Prison building boom to make streets safer - England and Scotland

10th December 2025

A prison building boom is underway across the country as the Government presses ahead with the biggest jail expansion programme since the Victorian era.

5,000 new prison places under construction - part of biggest expansion in over a century

Thousands of new jobs created nationwide, boosting local economies.

Crucial step towards safer streets under Government's Plan for Change

Around 5,000 new prison places are under construction - including in the North West, South East, South West and East of England - as part of Government action to keep the public safe and ensure jails never run out of space again.

Once complete, they will add to the 2,900 places already delivered since July 2024, marking significant progress towards the target of 14,000 additional places by 2031 to lock up dangerous offenders. The latest project, a 245-place houseblock at HMP Fosse Way in the East Midlands, opened to prisoners last week.

The various builds are also powering local economies, with thousands of jobs created nationwide during construction and once the sites are operational.

Minister for Prisons, Probation, and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said:   
This Government inherited a prison system in crisis - and we're doing everything we can to fix it.

We've already delivered 2,900 new places in the last 18 months, with thousands more on the way. As part of our Plan for Change we're making sure dangerous offenders are behind bars and our streets are safer - no excuses, just action.

The prison estate increased by less than 500 net places in the fourteen years to April 2024.

The thousands now under construction are being delivered through new prison builds, the expansion and refurbishment of existing sites, and innovative solutions such as Rapid Deployment Cells which are modular units designed to quickly add capacity.

Minister for Sentencing and Youth Justice, Jake Richards, said, "We’ve wasted no time in building the prison places needed to protect the public, creating thousands of jobs along the way.

But building alone will not end the crisis. That is why we’re also reforming sentencing to ensure punishment cuts crime and that there is always a cell for dangerous criminals.

Construction is already underway on new houseblocks at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, HMP Highpoint in Suffolk and HMP Wayland in Thetford, adding 1400 places across the sites. Meanwhile, expansion work has also begun at six further prisons delivering new Small Secure Houseblocks, which combined will deliver over 1,000 places.

In Leicestershire, main works have commenced on the brand-new HMP Welland Oaks prison that will provide approximately 1,700 places when it opens in 2029.

Rapid Deployment Cells are being rolled out at sites including HMPs Wayland, Haverigg, The Mount and Leyhill, with places expected to come online by summer 2026.

The Government also published its response to Dame Anne Owers’ independent review into prison capacity today, accepting the majority of the report’s recommendations aimed at ensuring the country is never faced with running out of cells again. This includes increasing investment in probation services, with up to £700 million extra already pledged by 2028/29 - allowing tens of thousands more offenders to be tagged and monitored and reducing pressure on the prison estate.

Since July 2024 around 2,900 places have been delivered, including around 1,500 places through the new prison HMP Millsike

Around 930 places have been delivered through Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) at 18 sites since January 2023

Over 1,000 places will be delivered through the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme (SSH) and over 2,000 through the Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery Programme (AHD).

The Government is investing £4.7 billion towards the delivery of these prison builds over this spending review period (2026/27 - 2029/30).

Scotland
What’s currently being built or newly approved.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and its building partners are in the midst of a major expansion and modernisation of the prison estate in Scotland.

HMP Glasgow — A new prison which will replace the historic HMP Barlinnie has been given formal approval. Construction is under way on a 54-acre site in Provanmill, Glasgow.

The new prison is budgeted around £998.4 million and will have a capacity of 1,344 prisoners — adding 357 places to Scotland’s overall prison capacity. Completion is expected in 2028.

The build involves major contractors and is being delivered using modern design-and-manufacture methods ("design-for-manufacture and assembly — DfMA"), with a focus on security, rehabilitation, and sustainability.

HMP Highland — A new prison in Inverness has also been approved. It is set to be Scotland’s first net-zero prison, running on renewable energy (e.g. ground-source heat pumps).

HMP Highland is budgeted at £209 million, will increase capacity by roughly 200 prisoners (over 100 more than the existing Inverness prison), and is scheduled for completion around 2026.

The prison project also includes improved facilities for education and health services — aiming to improve rehabilitation outcomes.

Why the reforms are being pushed and major existing pressures.

Scotland’s prison population remains under severe strain. As of recent data, the prison estate’s design capacity is 7,805, but the actual prisoner population has reached 8,391 well beyond capacity.

Even with the new prisons (HMP Glasgow and HMP Highland), the additional capacity — combined — will still leave the system slightly below the current population level, meaning overcrowding issues are likely to persist unless further measures are taken.

As a result of capacity pressures, the government has also implemented emergency measures: for example, a policy to release some short-term prisoners early which remains controversial.

Criticism & Risks
Why Some Say the New Building Programme Won’t Solve the Crisis.

Some voices including political opposition argue that even with the new prisons, the expansion will not be enough. The planned 357 extra places from HMP Glasgow and 200 from HMP Highland don’t fill the gap between capacity and actual population.

There is concern that by the time HMP Glasgow is completed (2028), population pressures may have increased further, risking persistent overcrowding.

Some also warn that focusing on building new prisons alone without complementary reforms — for example in sentencing policy, rehabilitation support, and alternatives to custody — may only provide a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution.

Current State & What’s Next

Construction on HMP Glasgow has started; the main contract is signed.

Highland is in progress — and once completed in 2026, will mark Scotland’s first net-zero prison.

But even with these two major projects, prison capacity in Scotland will continue to be under stress — additional reforms or further expansion may be needed.

Meanwhile, early-release measures for short-term prisoners are being implemented to relieve immediate pressures.