PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Bedford Prison: Wellingborough Prison (16 October 2018)

The Government is committed to the modernisation of the prison estate. This will be achieved by delivering up to 10,000 modern, safe and decent prison places as previously announced, and the reconfiguration of the existing estate, providing the physical conditions for Governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes. The delivery of new places will enable the Prison Estate Transformation Programme to achieve a combination of replacing existing capacity and increasing current capacity so that we will be able to close the least fit for purpose prison accommodation while ensuring we continue to meet demand. Population and capacity of the prison estate is kept under careful review to ensure there is always sufficient capacity. Decisions on the size of the future prison estate will reflect the current and projected prison population, including an assessment of the necessary margin to manage population fluctuations. No decisions have been made about future prison closures (male or female) beyond those which have already been announced.