Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2018 to Question 188131 on Prisons: Private Sector, what criteria his Department uses to decide which prison accommodation is classed as unsuitable.

As set out in my answer to PQ 188131, the Government is committed to building up to 10,000 modern, safe and decent prison places to replace old, expensive and unsuitable accommodation so that Governors can achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes.

There are a variety of factors that inform decisions to classify prison accommodation as being unsuitable. These include physical condition, age, cost of maintenance and/or operation, strategic fit with demand and needs of the prisoner population, rehabilitative suitability, access to services and the number of hours a prisoner would spend in their cell.

We continue to focus on safety and decency in the prison estate. Last July, the Justice Secretary announced an investment of £30 million in prisons to enhance safety, security and decency across the estate. This includes a £16m investment in improving the fabric of prisons, targeting those with the most pressing maintenance issues so that we can start bringing them back up to acceptable standards.

As announced in the 2018 Budget, an additional £30 million will be spent on prisons this financial year on top of the £30 million announced in July. This will go towards further improvements to safety, security and decency on top of those already announced.