Rapid Deployment Cells Project

Infrastructure and Construction

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: Not disclosed
Published schedule: 27/07/2021 – 31/07/2028
NISTA delivery confidence: AMBER
Senior responsible owner: Tracy Dineen

What the project is for

The Rapid Deployment Cells Programme supports our 20,000 additional prison places commitment; its scope is to offer a flexible capacity solution across the prison estate.

Departmental delivery commentary

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the NISTA Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 25/26-Q4 remains at Amber. This is primarily due to delays arising following the administration of a key supplier and challenging site conditions.

Schedule

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's end date at 25/26-Q4 changed from 28/02/28 to 31/07/2028. This is primarily due to schedule slippage across multiple sites.

Cost

Exempt under Section 43 - Commercial interests

Benefits

This programme currently reports no monetised benefits. Due to the projected increasing prisons population, this programme focusses on increasing capacity and there are no monetised benefits to be claimed. The programme's other benefits are defined in the current baseline as: construction benefits and outcomes (capacity, modern methods of construction and sustainability); to enable an improvement in prisoner rehabilitation outcomes; and, during its construction, to deliver local community benefits.