Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the prisoner capacity is at HMP (a) Huntercombe, (b) Maidstone and (c) Morton Hall as of 16 October 2023.

The population, operational capacity and certified normal accommodation (CNA) level of every prison is published monthly: Prison population figures: 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

HMP Huntercombe, HMP Maidstone and HMP Morton Hall are the three foreign national offenders (FNO) only prisons within HMPPS. They hold only those of interest to the Home Office with between 3 and 36 months left to serve. They include embedded Home Office staff with better access to FNOs to facilitate effective deportations.

The table below provides the operational capacity and certified normal accommodation level at (a) HMP Huntercombe, (b) HMP Maidstone and (c) HMP Morton Hall on 16 October 2023.

The Operational Capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by the Prison Group Directors on the basis of operational judgement and experience.

We are committed to increasing the number of FNOs removed from our prisons, and all FNOs sentenced to custody are referred to us at the earliest opportunity to be considered for deportation.