# Build 14,000 more prison places by 2031

> “We aim to construct 14,000 places by 2031.”
>
> — HM Government; Ministry of Justice 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy (GOV.UK), 11 December 2024

- **Status:** Delivering
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Police, courts, prisons](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/police-courts-and-prisons)
- **Speaker:** [HM Government](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/hm-government)
- **Made on:** 11 December 2024
- **Where:** Ministry of Justice 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy (GOV.UK)
- **Deadline:** 31 December 2031
- **Cost a year:** Costs £1.1bn to £1.3bn a year (central £1.2bn by HM Treasury, official)
- **Who it affects:** Prisons in England and Wales
- **When:** By 2031
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67586f828a1ef8f66413b9c2/24.231_MOJ_10-Year_Capacity_Strat_Pub_v10.1_WEB.pdf#page=14 (checked word for word on 12 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 12 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-prison-places-14000-2031

## Where it stands

The Ministry of Justice says around 3,300 places have been delivered since July 2024 (9 October 2026), including HMP Millsike (about 1,500 places, March 2025); its annual statement counted about 5,000 places under construction at the end of 2025. The Spending Review 2025 provides £7bn between 2024-25 and 2029-30; the annual statement says completing the 14,000 needs money from future Spending Reviews. The 14,000 are the places the previous government's programmes did not deliver; they are newly built places, not net capacity. "By 2031" is read as by the end of 2031.

## Timeline

- 11 December 2024, Promised: The Ministry of Justice's 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy aims to build 14,000 prison places by 2031
- 11 December 2024, In plan: The strategy sets out the build programme, with around £2.3bn for prison builds in 2024-25 and 2025-26 ([evidence](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67586f828a1ef8f66413b9c2/24.231_MOJ_10-Year_Capacity_Strat_Pub_v10.1_WEB.pdf))
- 11 June 2025, Funded: The Spending Review 2025 provides £7bn between 2024-25 and 2029-30 to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031 ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html))
- 29 January 2026, Delivering: The annual statement reports about 2,900 places delivered since July 2024, including HMP Millsike, and about 5,000 under construction at the end of 2025 ([evidence](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6978d0421c24881f40a4d6b0/moj_annual_statement_prison_capacity_2025.pdf))
- 31 December 2031, Deadline (to come): 14,000 new prison places due by 2031

## About the cost

The Spending Review 2025 provides £7bn between 2024-25 and 2029-30 to build the 14,000 places, about £1.17bn a year on average over those six years (central); the Ministry of Justice put it as around £2.3bn in 2024-25 and 2025-26 and £4.7bn of capital in 2026-27 to 2029-30. No source gives a figure for each year, so low–high is an editorial ±10% around the average. Money for the places still to be built after 2029-30 is not yet allocated.

Costing sources:
- [HM Treasury: Spending Review 2025, paragraph 5.40](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html)
- [Ministry of Justice: 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, paragraph 5 (PDF)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67586f828a1ef8f66413b9c2/24.231_MOJ_10-Year_Capacity_Strat_Pub_v10.1_WEB.pdf)

## Sources

- [Ministry of Justice: 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, 11 Dec 2024 (PDF)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67586f828a1ef8f66413b9c2/24.231_MOJ_10-Year_Capacity_Strat_Pub_v10.1_WEB.pdf)
- [Written ministerial statement HCWS294, 11 Dec 2024: 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy and Annual Statement (Shabana Mahmood)](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-12-11/hcws294)
- [HM Treasury: Spending Review 2025, paragraph 5.40](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html)
- [Ministry of Justice: Annual Statement on Prison Capacity 2025, 29 Jan 2026 (PDF)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6978d0421c24881f40a4d6b0/moj_annual_statement_prison_capacity_2025.pdf)
- [Ministry of Justice press release, 9 Oct 2026: Kent prison to gain nearly 250 extra places](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kent-prison-to-gain-nearly-250-extra-places)

## Checks

- Checked by Pavel Guzhikov and 1 independent editor on 12 October 2026.

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