Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Prisons and Probation at the Justice Select Committee on 22 October 2019, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy to maintain Victorian prisons of the closure of HMP Dartmoor.

The planned closure of HMP Dartmoor in 2023 was announced in 2013. This remains our plan.

We continue to discuss with the Duchy of Cornwall whether there is a viable role for Dartmoor in our prison estate plans, which we keep under constant review.

We have received £156m additional funding for next year to undertake essential maintenance across the whole prison estate, to ensure we have the prison places we need to manage incoming demand.