A refurbished wing at HMP Norwich that should have created 170 extra places has added just 10, because two other wings at the prison have closed.
Work on the £38 million renovation of the Elizabeth Fry wing started in 2023. The aim was to add 170 places by 2025.
The project was one strand of the Government’s drive to expand prison capacity across England and Wales. Longer sentences have pushed up prisoner numbers, and the rise has threatened to outstrip the space available.
The redevelopment belonged to a £4 billion national programme, launched under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative administration, to create 20,000 new prison places.
The prison service and the officers’ union disagree over why the two older wings shut.
Steven Searby leads the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) branch at HMP Norwich. He said the prison had originally been due to receive 44 extra staff to open the new unit. Later, he said, officers heard that the 170-cell wing could open without them, a decision he found baffling.
According to Mr Searby, the promised recruits never arrived. After the union complained, he said, the prison shut two category C wings holding 160 cells and moved their staff across to run the new wing.
“We struggle to run a normal regime and routine every day as it is,” he said.
“We’re no different from any other jail in the country. Every single jail has chronic staffing shortages,” he added.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) gave a different explanation. A spokesperson said the small net gain was the result of temporary operational work while maintenance takes place on one of the closed wings.
“This investment has transformed the wing into a modern 170-place facility,” the spokesperson said.
According to HMPPS, the other accommodation is undergoing essential fire safety maintenance. Once that work ends, the spokesperson said, the net increase will be far greater in the long term.
The spokesperson also said the current Government had inherited prisons close to collapse. Only 500 net places reached the estate in the 14 years to July 2024, HMPPS said. It added that the Government is now building 14,000 new places and has delivered 3,300 since July 2024.
HMP Norwich dates from the 1880s. It held 746 prisoners when the Chief Inspector of Prisons last inspected it in January.
