Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether spaces in segregation units and in hospital or medical wings count towards a prison's certified normal accommodation.

Prison Service Instruction 17/2012 “Certified Prisoner Accommodation” which is published on the Ministry of Justice website http://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis/prison-service-instructions-2012 sets out that Deputy Directors of Custody (DDCs) are responsible for determining which accommodation is not included in baseline Certified Normal Accommodation, based on operational issues and other management considerations.

The Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) of a prison is its uncrowded capacity. General guidance within PSI 17/2012 sets out that baseline Certified Normal Accommodation is the sum total of all certified accommodation in an establishment except, normally: cells in segregation units and healthcare cells or rooms in training prisons and Young Offender Institutions that are not routinely used to accommodate long stay patients.