Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are held in a prison which is a higher category than they have been given; and how many of those prisoners are held in a higher category prison because their healthcare needs cannot be met by a prison of their respective category.

It is not uncommon for prisoners to serve part of their sentence in an establishment which can hold prisoners of a higher security category than they are. For example a newly-sentenced category C prisoner will initially begin their sentence in a predominant function ‘local’ prison, which serves the courts and is built to a category B standard, before being allocated to a category C ‘training’ prison.

As at 30 June 2018 there were around 16,000 prisoners being held in prisons which can hold those of a higher security category. Seventy five percent of these are category C prisoners awaiting onward allocation to a suitable establishment and short-term sentenced prisoners who are held close to their home address in preparation for resettlement into the community.

There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in allocation and transfer of prisoners. Decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. Closeness to home is one of the key factors considered when choosing where to place prisoners, particularly for those on short sentences or nearing release, where they need to (re)build family ties, secure housing and health services and look for work. These prisoners are prioritised for local prisons in large conurbations. We also consider other factors such as length of sentence, security category and offending behaviour requirements.

Through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme we are getting the basics right by building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders. As well as constructing new prisons we are reconfiguring the existing estate so that prisoners will be held in the right place at the right time in their journey and their rehabilitation can be managed more effectively. By matching people in prison to the function that a prison fulfils, prisons will be able to deliver the right outcomes, and people in prison will be better supported to turn their lives around.