Prisoners: Wales

(asked on 13th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for which Wales has a proportionally higher prison population per 100,000 than England.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 16th November 2023

Prison capacity and population movements are managed nationally across England and Wales. There are over 5,500 prison places in Wales including a 2,000 place prison, HMP Berwyn, which opened in 2017. Geographically HMP Berwyn is near to the Northwest of England and holds a significant number of prisoners sentenced by courts in that region as well as prisoners originating in Wales.

UK nationals have a nationality of British. While holding an individual close to their home is an important consideration in the placement of prisoners, HMPPS does not identify or record prisoners as English or Welsh. Someone with an address in England may consider themselves to be Welsh, while someone with an address in Wales may not.

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