The Justice Secretary has set out major plans to create more than 14,000 new jail places – but has admitted we can’t “build” our way out of the prisons crisis.
Shabana Mahmood said a massive £2.3billion will go towards building jails as part of a 10-year strategy to deal with prison overcrowding. Labour hit out at the Tories’ “gross negligence” in failing to deal with crumbling prisons as it vowed to create 14,000 jail spaces to ensure the public is safe.
Under the new strategy, four new prisons, which will house 6,400 offenders, will be built in the next seven years. Another 6,400 places will be built on current sites and 1,000 rapid deployment cells will be rolled out. Some 1,000 existing cells – some of which are in use – will also be refurbished.
But speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Ms Mahmood admitted to MPs: “We simply cannot build our way out of this problem, so in order to make sure there’s always a prison place for the people that need to be locked up and that we never run out of prison places again, we do have to have an independent review of sentencing.”
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The MP for Birmingham Ladywood in October ordered a major review of sentencing to find new ways to punish offenders and deal with overflowing prisons. One option being considered is for criminals to serve their sentences at home instead of in jail, with community punishment being linked to lower reoffending rates.
The review will report back on its findings in Spring next year. It came as chairman of the Justice Committee Andy Slaughter on Tuesday said some of the UK’s existing prisons are “little more than a human warehouse”.
“The condition, especially of our Victorian prisons, is not conducive to rehabilitation or preparation for life on release,” he told the Commons. He warned Labour that thought must be given to the “training, education, addiction and mental health needs” of offenders when building new jails.
In a major report, Whitehall’s spending watchdog last week criticised the previous Conservative government for failing to keep its promise to build more jail places. The National Audit Office said the Tories failed to make sure policy changes bringing in longer jail sentences matched the space available in prisons to hold criminals.
Ministers say the Tories created 13,000 new jail places but closed 12,500 – so only increased available cells by 500 in their 14 years in power. The new Labour government was forced to release thousands of prisons early when it was elected due to space dwindling to dangerous levels.
Ms Mahmood added: “The last Government pretended they could send people away for longer and longer without building the prisons they promised. They left our prisons in crisis, on the edge of collapse.
“Part of our plan for change, this capacity strategy, alongside an independent review of sentencing policy, will keep our streets safe and ensure no government runs out of prison places again.”
Labour will now press ahead with controversial plans for a new 1,700-cell prison close to HMP Garth and HMP Wymott in Lancashire got the go-ahead earlier this month. Another 1,700-place prison will be built in Leicestershire, while Buckinghamshire and Yorkshire will each get a new 1,500-cell site.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Tories’ gross negligence of our prisons is unforgivable. Without action from this Labour government, criminals could do whatever they want, without consequence. This government is delivering on our Plan for Change with investment and reform to create safer and rebuild Britain.”