Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of (1) the current capacity of the prison system, and (2) the current number of prisoners.

As of Friday 17 March, the latest published data, the prison population was 85,501 and useable operational capacity was 86,585, indicating headroom of 1,084 places.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and will aim to deal with the prison population in a way that gives the taxpayer the best possible value for money. The Justice Secretary has launched wholesale reforms to transform all prisons into places of safety and reform where offenders are supported to turn their backs on crime for good.