Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prisons he plans to have built to meet the November 2016 commitment to build up to 10,000 modern prison places; and where those prisons are planned to be located.

The government set out its ambition for a reformed prison estate in the November 2016 Prison Safety and Reform White Paper. This included a commitment to build up to 10,000 modern prison places which will provide the conditions to enable governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitation outcomes.

I wrote to the Chair of the Justice Committee on 26 June 2018 updating him on progress on the Government’s prison transformation programme. A copy of the letter has been placed in the House Library.