Prisoners' Release
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the breakdown by category of prison regarding the freeing up of the prison estate over ten months via the early release scheme.
Answered by Ministry of Justice
This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will now deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited, including through the progression model, which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send people to custody in order to keep the public safe.
Prisoners serving Standard Determinate Sentences are held across the prison estate and can be transferred between prisons over time. We have published the best available modelled estimates of the volumes of offenders estimated to be released on the first day of each tranche. This information is now available at: Sentencing Act 2026 offence exclusions - GOV.UK.
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