What prison units, beds, cells, or accommodation blocks, if any, previously considered unsuitable, mothballed, decommissioned, closed, or out of service are expected, forecast, planned, or assumed to be reopened or returned to use during 2026/27, broken down by prison site, expected timing, number of beds or cells affected, and reason they were previously out of service?

Answer

I am advised that Corrections has undertaken a range of measures to increase available accommodation across the prison network. This has included returning some previously closed accommodation to service. In all cases, accommodation is subject to appropriate safety, security, and operational assessments prior to being brought back into use. I am further advised that the primary reasons accommodation has previously been out of service include: • maintenance, refurbishment, or infrastructure upgrades • operational decisions to temporarily close units where demand was lower • planned decommissioning of accommodation. Where accommodation has been returned to service, this has generally been to respond to increased prison population pressures, provide greater flexibility in managing different prisoner cohorts, and support safe and effective prisoner management and staff deployment. Corrections continues to monitor prison population trends closely, and will take further steps, where necessary, to ensure sufficient capacity is available across the network. I refer the member to the attached tables for details of closed beds planned to open by prison for 2026/2027, and the number of previously decommissioned beds planned to open by prison for 2026/2027.

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