Plans for More Women’s Prison Places Put on Hold

Amidst the headlong rush to build enough prison places to keep pace with demand, it’s perhaps surprising to see the UK government pause their plans to expand capacity for one group at least - women prisoners.

The Prison service told MPs yesterday that high levels of inflation over the last year have had a material impact on estimated costs. So they are taking “a responsible approach” by pausing plans to build Gender-Specific and Trauma-Informed (GSTI) accommodation at five sites. They’ve got the planning permission for three of the sites but, it seems, not the money to develop them.

The numbers of women in prisons are expected to rise from 3,649 last week to 4,200 in November 2026 but the letter to the House of Commons Justice Committee makes clear that the government wants fewer women in prison.

Latest statistics show that proportionately more of the women in prison are on remand than are men (15% v 12%) and of those sentenced, 14% are serving terms of 2 years or less compared to 7% of men. So there is hope that the projected rise in the number of women in prison – already 5 percentage points lower than it is for men- won’t come to pass.  Better community sentences and more alternative residential options could help achieve that, along with more constructive sentencing guidelines which are currently being prepared.

Halting prison expansion albeit in a small way looks like a case of doing the right thing for the wrong reason. The letter expresses a commitment to “exploring solutions for the complex challenges within the Criminal Justice System that deliver better outcomes for the taxpayer”. It might have been an idea to start that exploration before embarking on the plans for 20,000 new prison places for men.