The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has defended its approach to prison capacity after it emerged that HMP Millsike has room for more than 300 extra prisoners.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked the MoJ to find other ways to create space in prisons. His request came amid a political row over early releases under the Sentencing Act ‘early progression’ model. Empty cells across the estate have since come under scrutiny.
Millsike, near York, opened in March 2025 at a cost of £400 million. It still has 344 vacancies. The prison has space for nearly 1,500 prisoners, but an operational restriction caps it at just over 1,100. Officials judge that taking more prisoners with the current number of officers would be unsafe.
The prison slowed its intake to allow better recruitment and training of staff. The BBC reported claims by former workers of a “chaotic atmosphere” inside. Some who have quit have cited poor training and little support.
Places lost in older prisons
Older prisons, some dating from the Victorian era, have more than 4,000 empty places. Wings and cellblocks there have closed for maintenance, fire safety work or health risks. These cells will stay out of use until someone fixes the hazards.
The total includes HMP Dartmoor, which can hold more than 600 prisoners. It was evacuated in 2024 after unsafe levels of radioactive radon gas were found. Dartmoor is a category C men’s prison in the South West.
A difficult start has delayed Millsike’s build-up to a full population of 1,468. According to the MoJ, staffing was one of several factors behind the timetable for new arrivals. Others included safety and security, the stability of the prison and setting up its regime and processes. The department said Millsike would take more prisoners “when operationally appropriate to do so”.
An MoJ spokesman said: “We are working at pace to bring every available prison place online – and have always been clear that new prisons require a ramp up period to ensure they remain safe, secure and protect the public”.
Mitie, the private company that runs the prison, said Millsike was following the ramp-up plans agreed with the MoJ. It said staffing and recruitment matched the phased growth in population, and it remained focused on safety and security.
Row over escort contracts
The Guardian reported that Millsike managers had approved online adverts for prisoner escort roles paying £25 an hour “on a flexible, task-based basis”. Critics have called them zero-hours contracts. The MoJ confirmed that Mitie’s proposal was “under consideration”.
The Sangfroid Group placed the adverts for Mitie. They encouraged former military personnel and people with similar experience to apply. Mitie already runs escort services for the MoJ. From next year it will run all escort and transport services for Scottish prisons.
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has urged the Prime Minister to block the plan. It pointed to the Government’s pledge to curb zero-hours contracts. Mick Pimblett, the union’s deputy general secretary, said: “Mitie is unable to fulfil its contractual obligations because they cannot recruit enough officers to safely staff the jail”. He said the company was trying to bring in zero-hours contracts by another name, and called the move disgraceful.
On 9 July, local residents reported seeing a bomb squad vehicle drive into the prison. Shortly afterwards they heard what sounded like a controlled explosion. Mitie said no viable device was found.
In July, Mitie agreed a £3.1 billion takeover by rival outsourcer OCS Group. OCS belongs to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a New York-based private equity group. The deal should complete early next year.
Joe Chapman, a former prison officer, runs a support group for prisoners, families and staff at Millsike. He said the group had built a positive link with Mitie’s management, but regular contact had stopped since the takeover. He said there had been examples of good practice and that the Director was keen to put things right. But a lot of improvement was still urgently needed, especially in staff training.
Mr Chapman said: “I am also very disappointed that HM Inspectorate of Prisons have not visited yet, due to their policy of allowing prisons to ‘bed in’ before they call”.
The prison’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) is due to release its first full annual report next month. The board raised concerns with the Prisons Minister in January about how the prison was running. Mitie then replaced the prison’s first Director.
