PRISONS are so overcrowded they are at risk of running out of space again by early 2026, MPs have warned.
The public accounts committee inquiry found that the system faces “total gridlock” despite thousands of prisoners being released early.
It said that violence is increasing, with fights between prisoners up by 14 per cent and attacks on staff up by 19 per cent since last September.
The overcrowding crisis puts barriers in the way of accessing services essential to rehabilitation such as education and drug treatment, evidence to the inquiry showed.
It found that a quarter of prisoners are sharing cells designed for one person, often with an open toilet.
A quarter of prison places do not meet fire safety standards. It will cost an estimated £2.8 billion to bring the estate into a fair condition.
The report said that His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was “entirely reliant” on “uncertain” future measures to prevent it running out of places, which it hopes will come from the upcoming independent sentencing review.
Plans to deliver the remaining 14,000 places by 2031 are “fraught with risk and uncertainty,” the MPs warned, and issued recommendations for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HMPPS to assure Parliament plans are realistic.
POA deputy general secretary Mick Pimblett said: “The changes to early release, bail, home detention curfew, recategorisation of prisoners, among others, have failed to address the capacity crisis in our prisons.
“On top of these, the failed outsourcing of maintenance in our prisons has been a huge contributory factor to the lack of accommodation available.
“The eagerly anticipated sentencing review will apparently resolve all of our issues?
“However, all it will do is place more pressure on other agencies who are suffering the same staffing crises as prisons.”
The MoJ has been contacted for comment
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Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber KC said: “Ultimately, the government must reduce demand on a system that has been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long.
“This is why sentencing reform is so urgent, and why the billions earmarked for building new prisons would be better spent on securing an effective and responsive probation service, working to cut crime in the community.”