Chancellor says current welfare system ‘is not working for anyone’ after reports of unease within the Labour cabinet

Prisons in England and Wales are forecast to run out of space again in early 2026 as years of government efforts have failed to create the extra capacity needed, MPs have warned.

A report from the Commons public accounts committee out today says plans from 2021 to create 20,000 more prison places by the mid 2020s were “completely unrealistic” and thousands of outstanding spaces are expected to be delivered five years late for £4.2bn – 80% – more than planned.

As a result of poor planning and delays, the adult male prison estate was operating at 98.0% to 99.7% occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024 and remains alarmingly full.

Overcrowding is endemic, staff are overburdened, and access to services and purposeful activity is poor. The current prison system has had to focus on ensuring there are sufficient places to house prisoners. While the efforts of HMPPS [HM Prison and Probation Service] staff to avert disaster are admirable, this state of crisis undermines their efforts to rehabilitate prisoners and reduce reoffending.

Lives are being put at increasing risk by the government’s historic failures to increase capacity.

Despite the recent emergency release of thousands of prisoners, the system still faces total gridlock in a matter of months.