Thousands of prisoners, including violent offenders, domestic abusers and some killers, will be eligible for early prison release to ease the crisis in Britain’s overcrowded jails, Andy Burnham has announced.
Just over a month after the prime minister paused the scheme following public backlash, he confirmed criminals jailed for rape, serious child sex offences and grooming will be blocked from the plans, while some 5,000 prisoners convicted of other offences will remain eligible.
Among those who could be released are two of the killers of police constable Andrew Harper, who suffered fatal injuries during a quad bike theft in Berkshire in 2019.
On Tuesday morning, as justice minister Alex Norris apologised to Mr Harper’s family, Mr Burnham said he wished he could have gone further on changes to the scheme, but explained that it would have risked the collapse of the prison system.
Failing to release prisoners under the scheme would mean prison places could run out as early as October, Mr Norris told Sky News.
Here, The Independent looks at why prisons are facing an overcrowding crisis, what is being done to fix it and who is now eligible for early release:
More criminals are being sent to prison
One of the biggest pressures facing prisons is the rise in people being sentenced to an immediate prison sentence when convicted at criminal courts.
Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show there was an 8 per cent rise in the number of offenders jailed in the year ending in March compared to last year. In fact, the 89,200 people jailed during the period was the highest number for eight years.
The largest proportional increase in immediate prison sentences were seen in the magistrates’ court, where since 2024 magistrates have been given additional sentencing powers to jail a criminal for up to 12 months.
Another reason for prisons filling up is that the average custodial sentence has been increasing over the past nine years, from 16.7 months in 2017 to 20.1 months this year.
Robbery and sexual offences have the highest custody rates, at 60 per cent and 55 per cent respectively. The MoJ highlighted this year that there had been an 18 per cent rise in prosecutions for sexual offences compared to last year.
More than a third of prisons are now overcrowded
While the total prison population in England and Wales fell 2 per cent from last year, the figure of 85,858 for June remains close to the 89,120 operational capacity.
But still, the number of prisons deemed overcrowded, meaning the prison population is above its Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) figure, is 51, out of the 120 prisons – well over a third of the estate.
Having a higher number of prisoners than the CNA means prisoners may share cells.
The most overcrowded prisons were HMP Wandsworth in London, holding 1,414 prisoners, HMP Leeds, holding 1,071 prisoners and HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire, holding 1,989 prisoners.
A Parliament paper issued in February reported that the prison population had shrunk over the past decade, in part due to the pandemic, but had began rising again since 2023.
It said that prison sentences had been getting longer, with 48 per cent being for over four years in 2025 compared with 36 per cent in June 2010, with the population aging as a result.
The average annual cost per prisoner is £53,801.
Labour plans for 14,000 more prison places by 2031
With the government’s own projection that the prison population is expected to increase to more than 100,000 by the end of the decade, Labour has made clear its intention to provide more spaces; either by building new prisons or extending existing prisons.
In December, under Sir Keir Starmer’s government, work was underway for 5,000 new prison places across the country, with an aim to create 14,000 additional places by 2031.
They include a new HMP Welland Oaks prison, set for opening in 2029, for around 1,700 prisoners.
New house blocks are also being added at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, HMP Highpoint in Suffolk, HMP Wayland in Thetford, increasing space for 1,400 prisoners at each site.
Rapid deployment cells have been opening over the summer at HMPs Wayland, Haverigg, The Mount and Leyhill. They are created on smaller parcels of land than alternative accommodation options such as house blocks.
Who is eligible for early release following review?
After the early release scheme was paused in September, ministers said on Monday night that only rapists and serious child sex offenders will exempt from the early release scheme.
Mr Burnham said he had wanted to go further with the exemptions, but this was “not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing”.
The releases, which had been planned for September, have also been put back to October to allow the probation service more time to prepare.
Those released will face tougher probation conditions, including electronic monitoring, random drug testing and possible bans from driving, pubs and events such as football matches.
The changes were part of the Sentencing Act passed earlier this year that cut the minimum amount of time many offenders would have to spend in prison.
Reacting to the changes, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said victims “deserve better”. “Killers, violent offenders, men who have terrorised their partners and more will all still walk out of prison in October thanks to Labour’s early release scheme,” she said.
