Ministers are set to seriously examine the conversion of parts of the female prison estate into cells suitable for male prisoners. This move is part of the government's efforts to reduce the number of women in prison and alleviate pressure on the wider system.
Prisons minister Catherine McKinnell will look into the practicalities of converting female spaces for male use over the coming months. This follows warnings from governors and experts about potential significant challenges.
The victims minister Alex Davies-Jones stated that the government believes the "vast majority of women who are in prison, many of whom are mothers and have young children, shouldn’t necessarily be there." She suggested they could be managed in the community through women's centres.
However, Ms Davies-Jones also noted that a "one-size-fits-all approach" to converting prisons cannot be taken, acknowledging that some women should remain in prison. She added that if there is a case to re-purpose the female estate, due to the male estate being 98% at capacity, the government will explore options to free up capacity.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League, commented that a genuine reduction in the number of female prisoners would be welcome, but warned that simply freeing up space for men "does nothing to fix a prison system that is fundamentally too full – it just moves the crisis from one part of the estate to another."