To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projection he has made of (a) the operational prison capacity and (b) the certified nominal accommodation of the prison estate in England and Wales on (a) 1 October, (b) 1 January, (c) 1 April and (d) 1 July in each year to April 2012. (150504)

NOMS undertakes a rolling programme of refurbishment on the prison estate. As schemes come back into use following refurbishment, other schemes are taken forward and the accommodation is taken out of use.

8,000 new prison places were announced by the Home Secretary in July 2006 and a further 1,500 places by the Lord Chancellor on 19 June. The programme is still in the planning stages and the number of places to be provided beyond 2007 has not been finalised.