Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the answer to Question 30100, how many of the operational capacity places recorded as out of use for maintenance were unavailable, in each establishment, because of (a) the Fire Safety Improvement Programme, (b) damp, mould or water leaks, (c) infestation by bedbugs, cockroaches or rodents, (d) damage caused by prisoners, (e) demolition, or (f) other reasons, which should be specified ad hoc.

HMPPS does not centrally record the number of prison cells currently out of use due to bedbug infestations. Governors must manage the availability of places on a daily basis, ensuring that the prison can accommodate the number of prisoners certified as its Operational Capacity. Provided that Operational Capacity is not affected, taking individual cells out of use for reactive maintenance (including treatment for bed bug infestations) is at the discretion of Governors. Information on taking individual cells out of use for bedbug treatment programmes is held locally by individual prisons, and collating it across the prison estate would incur disproportionate cost.

Where bedbug infestations require a reduction in Operational Capacity, HMPPS does record this centrally. As at 19 October, 2026, there were two places removed from operational capacity due to the presence of bedbugs.

Please see the attached table, which provides the number of places as at 19 October, 2026 that have been temporarily removed from operational capacity for the reasons requested. Following from the response to PQ 30100, an additional 93 places have been taken out of use.

The Government inherited a prison capacity crisis after places increased by just 500 in 14 years, but we are pulling every lever available to make sure the country never runs out of spaces and we can keep dangerous offenders locked up.