On 1 September, we announced a package of criminal justice reforms intended to maintain sustainable prison capacity while protecting the public and victims. As part of that package, the Government set out its ambition to reduce the number of women in prison where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Repurposing a women’s prison requires reducing demand for places.

Women make up just a small proportion of those in custody – in June 2026, women comprised 4% of the prison population – yet they often have more complex needs than men. Many have experienced mental ill-health, substance misuse, trauma and abuse. Many women in prison are mothers and their imprisonment can have significant consequences for their children.

We are exploring options to reduce the number of pregnant women and mothers of young children in custody alongside taking forward a cross-government agenda of reform to address the drivers of women’s offending.

Centrally collated prison releases data only allows for "average proportion of sentence" to be readily estimated for those released from determinate sentences and this calculation may also include time spent in the community on bail. Therefore, to provide an accurate response would incur disproportionate cost to the department.

With regards to the number of prison leavers, the requested information has been provided as an Excel file alongside this response.

Centrally collated prison releases data only allows for "average proportion of sentence" to be readily estimated for those released from determinate sentences and this calculation may also include time spent in the community on bail. Therefore, to provide an accurate response would incur disproportionate cost to the department.

With regards to the number of prison leavers, the requested information has been provided as an Excel file alongside this response.

The Secretary of State has visited a range of justice sites across the country since taking office in July, of which one was an operational prison.

The below table shows the headcount of Band 3-5 officers who have reported that they are Welsh speakers on the Department’s HR database:

~ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Whether staff can speak Welsh is a self-reported variable, with the vast majority of staff not reporting this information, so the true numbers of Welsh speakers are likely to be higher.

The following tables provide a breakdown of the numbers of prisoners in Wales who had Welsh language recorded as their preferred spoken language or Welsh language recorded as a second spoken language during the time periods specified.

~ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Preferred language:

Second language:

This data is reflective of improved Welsh language prisoner breakdowns, with annual summaries planned for publishing in HMPPS’ next Welsh Language Scheme Annual Monitoring Report in October 2026.

The following tables provide a breakdown of the numbers of prisoners in England who had Welsh language recorded as their preferred spoken language or Welsh language recorded as a second spoken language during the time periods specified.

~ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Welsh preferred language

Second language

This data is reflective of improved Welsh language prisoner breakdowns, with annual summaries planned for publishing in HMPPS’ next Welsh Language Scheme Annual Monitoring Report in October 2026.

We are committed to working with the local community at all new prison sites. We have invested significantly in building positive community relationships; this will continue throughout the prison's construction. Officials will continue to regularly meet with local council officials, elected Councillors and Parish Councils to ensure local residents concerns and views are heard.

All calls to the establishment's main public telephone number are recorded as answered by the automated call-handling system.

No further call-answering data are collected.

We have interpreted the requests to mean the number of occasions in 2025 on which an offender’s licence was revoked that did not involve a charge of further offence. Offenders whose licence is revoked are not always immediately returned to custody. The numbers below include offenders who may have been recalled multiple times in 2025.

In 2025, 35,054 offenders’ licences were revoked in England and 2,804 in Wales not involving a charge of a further offence.

In 2025, 345 female offenders’ licences were revoked in Wales and 3,050 in England, not involving a charge of further offence.

We have interpreted the requests to mean the number of occasions in 2025 on which an offender’s licence was revoked that did not involve a charge of further offence. Offenders whose licence is revoked are not always immediately returned to custody. The numbers below include offenders who may have been recalled multiple times in 2025.

In 2025, 35,054 offenders’ licences were revoked in England and 2,804 in Wales not involving a charge of a further offence.

In 2025, 345 female offenders’ licences were revoked in Wales and 3,050 in England, not involving a charge of further offence.

The number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in 2025 in Wales and England, by offence group and ethnic group, as well as the number of offenders under post-release supervision by the Probation Service in Wales by ethnic group, can be found in the attached spreadsheets.

The number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in 2025 in Wales and England, by offence group and ethnic group, as well as the number of offenders under post-release supervision by the Probation Service in Wales by ethnic group, can be found in the attached spreadsheets.

The number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in 2025 in Wales and England, by offence group and ethnic group, as well as the number of offenders under post-release supervision by the Probation Service in Wales by ethnic group, can be found in the attached spreadsheets.

His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) closely monitors Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) contractors through formal contract management arrangements and assured performance reporting. Where contractor failures are identified, contractual remedies are available. These include service credits, fixed-cost remedies and improvement actions. In addition, the ministerially-chaired Prisoner Delivery Oversight Board is coordinating activity across criminal justice system partners to address the causes of delays in prisoner movements and court appearances.

Delays to court proceedings are recorded by H M Courts & Tribunals Service by means of court exception reports (CERs). CERs record delays arising from a range of factors and agencies across the criminal justice system, including prisons and courts, as well as prisoner-related issues and PECS. In the year to 31 July 2026, 22 CERs were submitted relating to cases where the late arrival of a prisoner had contributed to a delay at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Of these, two were attributable to the PECS contractor.

HMPPS routinely monitors PECS contractor performance through a range of measures, including contract delivery indicators (CDIs). Information on contractor performance against three key CDIs is published through the Cabinet Office transparency reporting process. The Department keeps its reporting arrangements under review and continues to consider how best to ensure transparency while supporting effective contract management.

His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) closely monitors Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) contractors through formal contract management arrangements and assured performance reporting. Where contractor failures are identified, contractual remedies are available. These include service credits, fixed-cost remedies and improvement actions. In addition, the ministerially-chaired Prisoner Delivery Oversight Board is coordinating activity across criminal justice system partners to address the causes of delays in prisoner movements and court appearances.

Delays to court proceedings are recorded by H M Courts & Tribunals Service by means of court exception reports (CERs). CERs record delays arising from a range of factors and agencies across the criminal justice system, including prisons and courts, as well as prisoner-related issues and PECS. In the year to 31 July 2026, 22 CERs were submitted relating to cases where the late arrival of a prisoner had contributed to a delay at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Of these, two were attributable to the PECS contractor.

HMPPS routinely monitors PECS contractor performance through a range of measures, including contract delivery indicators (CDIs). Information on contractor performance against three key CDIs is published through the Cabinet Office transparency reporting process. The Department keeps its reporting arrangements under review and continues to consider how best to ensure transparency while supporting effective contract management.

His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) closely monitors Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) contractors through formal contract management arrangements and assured performance reporting. Where contractor failures are identified, contractual remedies are available. These include service credits, fixed-cost remedies and improvement actions. In addition, the ministerially-chaired Prisoner Delivery Oversight Board is coordinating activity across criminal justice system partners to address the causes of delays in prisoner movements and court appearances.

Delays to court proceedings are recorded by H M Courts & Tribunals Service by means of court exception reports (CERs). CERs record delays arising from a range of factors and agencies across the criminal justice system, including prisons and courts, as well as prisoner-related issues and PECS. In the year to 31 July 2026, 22 CERs were submitted relating to cases where the late arrival of a prisoner had contributed to a delay at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Of these, two were attributable to the PECS contractor.

HMPPS routinely monitors PECS contractor performance through a range of measures, including contract delivery indicators (CDIs). Information on contractor performance against three key CDIs is published through the Cabinet Office transparency reporting process. The Department keeps its reporting arrangements under review and continues to consider how best to ensure transparency while supporting effective contract management.

Primary legislation is not needed in the short term to make the offence exclusions a reality.

A full list of exclusions can be found here: Sentencing Act 2026 offence exclusions - GOV.UK.

What steps his Department has taken to increase the size of the probation workforce.

The Probation Service is suffering from thousands of vacancies and a pretty appalling retention rate. The extra £700 million announced for the Probation Service from this Government is welcome, but does the Minister accept that some of that needs to support Probation Service salaries, which have been massively eroded after a decade and a half of pay freezes and real-term cuts?