Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026 to question 28100 on Prisons: construction, what progress has he made in identifying the a) unused and b) underutilised existing space across the prison estate to be converted into cells.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 September to Question 23428, we have also delivered additional prison places through the refurbishment or reconfiguration of individual cells at the following sites:

Pursuant to the answer of 11 September to Question 28100, as set out in the Lord Chancellor’s announcement of 1 September 2026, we have committed to delivering further additional prison places through converting existing prison spaces into operational cells and have bought forward £110 million of existing funding to deliver these. The locations at which additional places will be delivered, and the exact number of places at each site, will be determined following feasibility assessments and work across the estate.

Prior to this announcement, plans were in place to deliver places at the following sites through the refurbishment and reconfiguration of individual cells: