Westminster update: lord chancellor announces new prison capacity measures

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Lord chancellor announces new prison capacity measures

The lord chancellor held a news conference to announce additional measures to stave off capacity issues in the prison system.

The former director general of HM Prison and Probation Service and current interim permanent secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Amy Rees, began the news conference by outlining the current state of the prison estate.

Rees highlighted that there are currently 88,087 incarcerated individuals.

The adult male estate is operating at 99% capacity.

She noted the prison population is increasing by 3,000 per year and that current estimates state the estate will reach zero capacity for adult men by November this year.

Rees emphasised that the primary cause of this overcrowding is longer sentence lengths, highlighting that the average sentence in 2005 was 13 months, compared to 21 months by 2023.

Rees also noted that increased offending or the recall population has increased dramatically from around 100 in 1993 to 6,000 in 2018 and now 13,600 in March this year.

The lord chancellor called it “shameful” that the UK in 2025 finds itself in this cycle.

Her first major announcement came in the form of additional funding across spending review period totalling £4.7 billion total capital investment.

This includes building three new prisons – the first of which breaks ground later this year – as well as new places in existing prisons.

Mahmood emphasised that the government must be honest and explain that prison building alone is not sufficient.

She leant on the independent sentencing review led by David Gauke, which she noted would be published in the next few weeks, as the long-term fix to the crisis in the justice system.

However, the lord chancellor also warned that these efforts won’t be felt until April next year, well ahead of the November deadline for zero capacity.

Mahmood therefore announced measures, starting today, to target the growing recall population.

She announced that the government will bring forward legislation in the coming weeks to introduce a statutory 28-day detainment period for reoffenders on sentences between one to four years.

This measure will exclude those charged with the most serious crimes. It builds on the previous government’s work of a 14-day period for sentences of less than a year.

In questions from the media, the BBC asked if the lord chancellor could explain how many people will be released as a result of these measures and what she would say to victims.

Mahmood responded that this measure will create 1,400 places, which will allow the prisons estate to get to spring next year where other measures will kick in.

She also explained that she understands concerns of victims, but that hitting zero prison places is the very worst thing that can happen.

Border Security Bill: minister introduces statutory timelines for asylum appeals

The minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, introduced amendments mandating 24-week statutory timelines for asylum appeals in the first-tier tribunal.

Dame Angela Eagle highlighted that appeals in the first-tier tribunal of the immigration and asylum chamber currently take an average of nearly 50 weeks, according to the latest published statistics.

She blamed the significant backlogs inherited from the previous government, explaining that a statutory timeframe would help to ease the pressure.

In anticipation of challenge, Dame Angela Eagle noted that:

“We are working at pace in the Home Office and with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to look at all possible improvements to the end-to-end immigration and appeals system and to the speed and efficiency of decision making and appeals, while continuing to guarantee access to justice.

"We will set out further reforms to the asylum system later this summer.”

This was not sufficient to ease Shockat Adam’s (independent) concerns as he criticised the move.

He called it “laudable” and emphasised that imposing “arbitrary deadlines of 24 weeks, without sufficient resources or legal safeguards, are not the answer. Justice rushed is justice denied.”

The Conservatives pushed a small number of amendments to a vote, mainly on disapplying the Human Rights Act and introducing migration limits. All of these amendments fell.

Lastly, Kim Johnson (Labour) noted her concerns about the bill maintaining section 29 of the Illegal Migration Act and its protections for victims of modern slavery.

Johnson emphasised that the government should instead focus on “restoring the right to seek asylum in the UK, opening up safe routes, abandoning offshore processing, resolving the legal aid crisis, restoring the right to work, increasing support rates for asylum seekers and ending the use of immigration detention and harmful, destructive rhetoric—in short, we should focus on building a compassionate, rights-based and evidence-led approach to immigration and asylum.”

The bill now moves to the House of Lords and will have its second reading on 2 June.

UK signs first landmark treaty for the protection of lawyers

The deputy leader of the House of Lords, Lord Collins of Highbury, attended the Council of Europe as the government’s representative to sign the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, the first binding international treaty focusing on the safety of lawyers.

The treaty highlights the role of lawyers for a fair justice system and a healthy democracy.

It was adopted by the Council of Europe, in response to increasing reports of attacks on the profession.

Under the convention, states are obligated to ensure that lawyers can perform their professional duties without facing attacks, threats, harassment, intimidation or undue interference.

If such actions may constitute a criminal offence, an effective investigation must be carried out.

Additionally, states must guarantee that professional associations function as independent, self-regulating bodies.

At least eight countries, including six member states of the Council of Europe, must ratify it for it to enter into force.

Compliance with the convention will be monitored by an expert group and a committee of the parties.

16 other nations including France, Ireland and Italy have also signed the convention as of Wednesday.

Our president Richard Atkinson welcomed the adoption of the treaty by the UK, noting that “the convention underscores how important it is to protect lawyers against harassment, threats and interference with their professional duties.

"If the lawyer is not protected, then no one is protected.

"Lawyers and their clients deserve a fair legal system free from harassment that impedes access to justice.”

Coming up

We are working closely with MPs and peers to influence a number of bills before Parliament:

• Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will have its second reading in the Lords on 2 June
• Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will have its committee stage in the Lords on 20 May
• Crime and Policing Bill will have its report stage in the Commons, date to be confirmed
• Data (Access and Use) Bill will have its consideration of Commons amendments in the Lords on 19 May
• Employment Rights Bill will continue its committee stage in the Lords which began on 29 April
• Mental Health Bill will have its second reading in the Commons on 20 May
• Planning and Infrastructure Bill will continue its committee stage in the Commons which began on 24 April
• Renters' Rights Bill will continue its committee stage in the Lords which began on 22 April
• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will have its report stage in the Commons on 16 May