Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that Feltham Prison and Young Offender Institution does not exceed its operational capacity.

Feltham comprises both an Under 18 Young Offender Institution (YOI) and a Prison, each with a separate operational capacity. The operational capacity is the total number of people that can be detained in that part of the site, taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by the Deputy Director of Youth Operations on the basis of operational judgement and experience.

Neither YOIs nor prisons are ever required to hold more people than their operational capacity. The Youth Custody Service and HMPPS Population Management work closely to move children, young people and prisoners to sites that meet appropriate placement factors. We balance the operational needs of children, young people and prisoners with the available spaces. While operational capacity figures at other establishments do include safe crowding levels, neither part of Feltham has been crowded in the last 20 years.

The population, operational capacity and certified normal accommodation (CNA) level of every prison is published monthly at Prison population figures: 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), and the Youth Custody Report provides a monthly breakdown of the Children and Young Persons Secure Estate at Youth custody data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).