Member

My main point concerns the prison population overall. The noble Baroness, Lady Newlove, looked at similar figures to those I will now cite. The most recent government projections are alarming. They specifically take into account that the early release scheme will continue under the present arrangements for the duration of the projected period, which runs until 2029. Current usable operational capacity—to use the government phrase—is 86,382. That is the capacity of the prison estate. Yet the current figure for prisoner population already exceeds that at 87,000. By March 2029, on the lowest level of prediction—of course, a range is posited—the figure will be 95,700. On the highest projection, the figure will be 105,200, with a central figure of 100,800. We have to get that figure down.