UK public spending on prisons by year
Spending on prisons and related services.
£8.4 billion
HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) put public spending on prisons at £8.4 billion in 2025-26. In 2024-25 it was £7.4 billion, so the cash figure changed by +13.6%. The highest year in these tables is 2025-26, at £8.4 billion.
Spending by year
| Year | Cash | Change on previous year | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | £8.4 billion | +13.6% | PESA 2026 |
| 2024-25 | £7.4 billion | +12.0% | PESA 2026 |
| 2023-24 | £6.6 billion | +8.2% | PESA 2026 |
| 2022-23 | £6.1 billion | +13.5% | PESA 2026 |
| 2021-22 | £5.4 billion | -4.5% | PESA 2026 |
| 2020-21 | £5.6 billion | +29.3% | PESA 2021 |
| 2019-20 | £4.4 billion | -4.3% | PESA 2021 |
| 2018-19 | £4.6 billion | +5.6% | PESA 2021 |
| 2017-18 | £4.3 billion | +1.5% | PESA 2021 |
| 2016-17 | £4.2 billion | PESA 2021 |
PESA Table 5.2, line "3.4 Prisons". About these figures · CSV
Sources and receipts
- Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2026, Chapter 5 tables, HM Treasury.
File: PESA_2026_CP_Chapter_5_tables.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
ccb4539bb837c2b6a7f9509da49bd409eb9e5a910f3332311b494291fbd33107 - Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2021, Chapter 5 tables, HM Treasury.
File: PESA_2021_CP_Chapter_5.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
7c68482aafa0fddab1cac06a01347a177533db9df354d384ea82f465ee61f6ec