Three Rehabilitation Super-Prisons

2. The proposed scale

• Three new prisons: A planned construction programme for three modern institutions.
• Around 5,000 places each: Approximately 15,000 additional places across the full programme.
• Rehabilitation at the core: Education, training, treatment, discipline and preparation for release built into daily operation.
• A functioning justice system: Capacity should support lawful sentences, public protection and greater stability across the prison estate.

3. Rehabilitation, not warehousing

• Education: Literacy, numeracy and recognised academic learning linked to individual needs.
• Apprenticeships: Structured routes into accredited trades and occupations with employer relevance.
• Vocational training: Practical skills aligned with realistic employment opportunities after release.
• Employment: Meaningful prison work that builds routine, responsibility and transferable experience.
• Drug rehabilitation: Evidence-led treatment, recovery support and continuity of care beyond custody.
• Mental health support: Timely assessment, treatment and specialist support within a safe environment.
• Discipline: Clear rules, consistent consequences and a stable regime that supports safety and progress.
• Preparation for release: Housing, work, treatment and supervision plans developed before the release date.

4. What success should mean

• Safer custody: Reduced violence, stronger order and safer conditions for staff and prisoners.
• Lower reoffending: Measured through outcomes after release rather than only activity completed inside prison.
• Victims protected: Through credible sentences and effective public protection.
• A capable workforce: Enough prison officers, clinicians, educators and specialists.
• Better continuity: Improved employment, housing and treatment continuity following release.

5. Costing the ambition honestly

6. Costs that must be modelled

• Sites and planning: Land acquisition, planning, enabling works, utilities, transport links and local infrastructure.
• Design and construction: Secure accommodation, workshops, education, healthcare, visits, kitchens and resilient systems.
• Staffing and training: Recruitment, pay, pensions, initial training, leadership and continuing professional development.
• Operations and maintenance: Food, energy, repairs, cleaning, transport, communications, insurance and asset renewal.
• Healthcare and rehabilitation: Mental health, drug treatment, education, apprenticeships, employment and resettlement.
• Security and technology: Perimeter security, control systems, digital infrastructure, monitoring and cyber resilience.

7. A staged delivery test

1. 01Need: Publish demand forecasts, evidence about the condition of the existing estate and the alternatives considered.
2. 02Affordability: Test capital, financing and operating costs against realistic justice budgets.
3. 03Deliverability: Set credible milestones for sites, approvals, procurement, workforce recruitment and opening dates.
4. 04Value: Compare the programme with refurbishment, smaller prisons and other capacity options.

8. Questions for scrutiny

1. 01What evidence demonstrates that 15,000 additional places is the right long-term capacity requirement?
2. 02Should three institutions each hold around 5,000 people, or would smaller linked units deliver safer and more effective regimes?
3. 03Which existing prisons should be replaced, refurbished or retained as the new capacity becomes available?
4. 04What legal safeguards would ensure emergency capacity pressure never becomes a substitute for lawful sentencing and release decisions?
5. 05How many prison officers, clinicians, teachers, instructors and specialists would be required, and how would they be recruited and retained?
6. 06What capital contingency and inflation assumptions should sit behind the illustrative £6–8 billion range?
7. 07What annual operating cost would follow construction, and how would it relate to the wider courts-and-justice budget?
8. 08How should drug treatment, mental healthcare, education, apprenticeships and release preparation be commissioned and measured?
9. 09What outcomes should trigger independent review: violence, staffing, escapes, reoffending, employment, housing or treatment continuity?
10. 10How would local infrastructure, transport, courts, probation services and communities be affected by each chosen site?
11. 11What procurement and oversight model would prevent delay, cost escalation and poor construction quality?

9. Core purpose

10. The proposed direction