Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons use the policy of three prisoners living in a cell; and how many cells are occupied by at least three prisoners in each prison.

Our vision is for prison staff and prisoners to work and live in a safe and secure, uncrowded environment that is modern and fit for the purpose of helping prisoners to reform.

This is why we are getting the basics right through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme, building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders.

Our reforms will see us close down and redevelop ageing prisons and deliver up to 10,000 new places in high-quality, modern establishments fit for today’s demands. We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decency and safety. We keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity.

The table below identifies 29 prisons, as at 30 June 2018, which were holding prisoners in accommodation certified to hold three people or more. The prisons identified will include those with healthcare units, dormitories, and cells which are certified to hold, on both a crowded and uncrowded basis, three or more prisoners.