Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners categorised as suitable for Category C accommodation are housed in Category B training prisons.

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.

The number of category C prisoners held in category B training prisons has fallen considerably in the last 8 years. As at 7 December 2018 there were 914 prisoners held in category B training prisons who were categorised as suitable to be held in category C conditions.

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 regime and range of services at the receiving prison. We consider factors such as length of sentence, security category and offending behaviour requirements. 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 places in suitable prisons which are closer to home.

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.