Written Question·Ministry of Justice·UIN 119804

Prisons: Costs

Tabled: 10 March 2026
Answered: 17 March 2026

Question

James McMurdock

Independent — South Basildon and East Thurrock

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the cost of imprisonment in England and Wales.

Answer

Jake Richards
The cost of running prisons has generally increased over the past decade, with particularly sharp changes during the Covid-19 period. Analysis of the published Prison Unit Costs series shows that average running costs per place have risen by around 5% per...
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