Four new prisons to be built as part of £1.3bn justice `reform` to tackle jail overcrowding

Plans for 5,000 new prisoner places and four new jails have been unveiled today in an effort to tackle overcrowding in England and Wales.

The new facilities, located at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire, Hindley in Wigan, Rochester in Kent and Port Talbot in South Wales, are part of a pledge to replace old establishments with “new, fit-for-purpose buildings”.

The announcement is the latest step in a £1.3 billion revamp of the prison estate first launched under Justice Secretary Liz Truss` predecessor, Michael Gove, amid concerns a number of facilities were run-down.

During the next three years, the Government plans to build nine new prisons and create up to 10,000 modern prison places to reduce overcrowding.

According to the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics in a report released last week, England and Wales have the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe – at 95,248.

However, many prisons are not built to support the number of inmates they have; about 25 per cent of the prison population are doubled up in single-occupancy cells.

Ms Truss said: “We cannot hope to reduce reoffending until we build prisons that are places of reform where hard work and self-improvement flourish.

“Outdated prisons, with dark corridors and cramped conditions, will not help offenders turn their back on crime – nor do they provide our professional and dedicated prison officers with the right tools or environment to do their job effectively.”

The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) said building new prisons does not reduce the number of people incarcerated in the first place and closing prisons rather than opening new ones would reduce the demand.

PRT director Peter Dawson said: “To ensure effective parliamentary scrutiny of the Government`s plans for prison reform, we urgently need to see a comprehensive plan for the whole prison estate—showing how demand will be reduced and closing prisons we no longer need as a result.

“It should include when overcrowding will end, how far prisoners’ families will be expected to travel for visits, and when every prison will be equipped to the same modern standard to do the same job of rehabilitation.”

Ms Truss has previously rejected calls to cut prison numbers, suggesting it would be “reckless” to public safety to reduce the number of custodial sentences in an effort to meet targets.

She added: “This significant building programme will not only help create a modern prison estate where whole scale reform can truly take root, but will also provide a thriving, economic lifeline for the local community – creating hundreds of jobs for local people and maximising opportunities for businesses.”

The Ministry of Justice said the final decisions will be based on planning approvals, value for money and affordability. It will also be open to the public prison service to bid to run the prisons along with private prison operators.

As well as creating modern establishments, the proposed programme is expected to boost regional economies by creating up to 2,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing industries and new opportunities for local business.

The announcement comes as ministers attempt to drive down re-offending rates and improve standards across the prison system in England and Wales.

Increasing levels of violence and self-harm have sparked warnings about prison safety, with jails experiencing a number of major disturbances recently.

A recruitment drive to add 2,500 frontline officers is among the measures introduced under the Government`s reform programme.