Sending prisoners abroad could cost £200m and won’t happen until 2026 at the earliest
The IndependentGet the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Plans to send UK prisoners to jails abroad will cost at least £200million and won’t happen until 2026, the government’s own assessments show. Justice secretary Alex Chalk has pledged to send criminals abroad, to relieve pressure on UK prisons When the plans were unveiled, the government cited similar measures introduced in European countries including Norway and Belgium which saw hundreds of prisoners sent to the Netherlands. Officials said the estimated annual cost of £35,000 per prison place abroad should not be directly compared to the cost per place in the UK, which is £46,696. In the assessment summary, MoJ officials said that “without intervention, the government is at risk of not being able to provide prison places to all those sentenced and overcrowding within prisons may continue”.
History of this topic
20,000 extra prison places will be five years late and £4.2bn over budget, spending watchdog finds
The Independent
UK planning to rent prison spaces from foreign countries, Justice Secretary says
The Independent
Prisoners will be sent to rented cells overseas amid overcrowding crisis
The Telegraph
Shoplifters could be handed prison sentences under revisions to crime bill
The Independent
England and Wales spend more on prisons than all of Europe except Russia
The IndependentDiscover Related
