As at 29 January 2010 there were 1,598 places recorded as out of use from the total certified normal accommodation (CNA) of the prison estate. This represents 2.1 per cent. of the total CNA.
The data available do not allow for a breakdown of whether these places are for young offenders or adults.
Comprehensive information on why these places are out of use is not held centrally, however the majority of out of use accommodation will be due to maintenance or refurbishment work taking place.
There is a planned programme of refurbishment of accommodation which requires the temporary closure of prison places. This allows the critical maintenance of the estate to be undertaken whilst having no significant change on the number of net places in use.
The following table shows the total number of places that were recorded as out of use by male and female establishments.
HMP Ashwell has 415 places out of use following an incident in April 2009. HMP Wealstun has 300 places out of use while part of the establishment is re-rolled to closed conditions.
Establishment name Number of places out of use Percentage of CNA Male establishments Ashfield 7 1.7 Ashwell 415 69.3 Aylesbury 12 2.6 Bedford 1 0.9 Channings Wood 2 0.3 Cookham Wood 25 17.2 Dartmoor 62 9.8 Dorchester 8 5.5 Edmunds Hill 10 2.6 Elmley (Sheppey Cluster) 18 2.4 Featherstone 29 4.3 Full Sutton 8 1.3 Grendon 23 9.1 Haslar 22 13.8 Hindley 66 13.0 Isle of Wight1 1 0.1 Lincoln 12 2.7 Liverpool 10 0.8 Long Lartin 13 2 Manchester 16 1.7 Moorland 13 1.8 Pentonville 5 0.5 Portland 72 11.9 Ranby 1 0.1 Rochester 32 4.2 Spring Hill 1 0.3 Stoke Heath 58 9.1 Swaleside 127 13.6 Swansea 18 7.3 Wakefield 1 0.1 Wealstun 300 37 Whatton 45 0.4 Whitemoor 28 5.7 Woodhill 5 0.8 Wormwood Scrubs 23 2 Female establishments Askham Grange 24 16.0 Holloway 29 5.5 Low Newton 45 14.3 New Hall 9 2.3 Styal 2 0.4 1 The sites at Albany, Camphill and Parkhurst constitute HMP Isle of Wight.