We have worked in partnership with the Ministry of Justice for more than 20 years, helping to deliver the Government’s vision of a modern, resilient and rehabilitation‑focused justice estate.
Our long‑term relationship is built on certainty of outcome across new build, expansion and refurbishment projects spanning prisons, probation facilities and courts.
We deliver large, politically sensitive programmes safely, on time and within budget, with no surprises for ministers, operators or local communities.
Our solutions‑led approach enables us to embed innovation, maximise productivity and apply lessons learned to continually improve pace, quality and value for the public purse. By reimagining the skills, technologies and processes needed to deliver complex programmes, we are proactively raising standards in prison construction and delivering modern facilities designed to help people thrive – supporting rehabilitation and resettlement, bringing investment and opportunity to local communities and reducing long‑term inefficiencies across the justice system.
We are proud to be delivering high quality justice infrastructure that will leave a positive legacy across the UK’s estate for decades to come.
Our impact at a glance
20 years
working with the Ministry of Justice
95 projects
delivered across the justice estate
20 live
projects currently on site
6,000
new, modern prison places delivered
When we reimagine rehabilitation, we reduce reoffending
For over a decade, we have been directly supporting the rehabilitation of prison leavers as part of our social purpose – reimagining places for people to thrive.
We help create environments inside prisons that prioritise skills, education and employability by providing workshops, training spaces and employment opportunities for individuals committed to turning their lives around.
Beyond the gate, our social value commitments go further:
- Creating jobs and apprenticeships for local people and working with the prison service to provide re-employment opportunities for prisoners after release.
- Supporting small, regional businesses (including social enterprises such as Combat2Coffee) through our supply chain.
- Investing time and resources through volunteering, mentoring and upskilling.
Together, this ensures that justice infrastructure acts as a platform for positive change, helping people rebuild their lives, reducing public spending and supporting thriving communities.
We understand that thriving after prison is more than just landing a job – it’s about breaking down the barriers that make it hard to step into work and succeed.
By partnering with specialist charities, we’re creating real, lasting job opportunities and making sure the right support is in place to guide individuals towards thriving careers.
Working with training providers, we also unlock funding for career-specific training routes, leaning into skills shortages faced by our supply chain and creating tailored opportunities for candidates.
Our barrier removal fund offers grants, on request from third sector partners, to help prison leavers find their feet in the workplace. Providing funding support for small one-off expenses such as a travelcard, vital household goods or work attire can make the difference between a prison leaver being able to sustain employment or falling out of the workforce.
We work with our supply chain to create sustainable prison leaver employment opportunities. This includes quarterly workshops to share insights, challenge preconceptions and equip our partners with the support they need to create roles.
Every Ministry of Justice project has a dedicated social enterprise champion, and we are proud to support a large number of social enterprises on our projects, contributing to our social value.
Social value in action
Some of the initiatives we’re supporting to open doors and create brighter futures for people in prison:
- Partnering with Koestler Arts: We partnered with Koestler Arts to support its ‘No Comment’ exhibition. Participants in prison receive feedback on their art, which plays a key part in their self-esteem. Learn more.
- Forests With Impact: We work with Forests With Impact, an innovative, industry-led social enterprise that establishes commercial tree nurseries within prisons across the UK. The work they are doing supports both prisoner rehabilitation and helps to address the climate crisis.
- Creating a new accessible pathway for residents neighbouring HMP Onley: As part of the social value commitments linked to our work at HMP Onley, our Construction West team has constructed a new accessible pathway for local residents. Find out more.
Reimagining rehabilitation at Stoke Heath
Wates Construction and SES Engineering Services worked with HMP Stoke Heath to establish an offsite manufacturing business that offered vocational training and employment within the prison to those in custody.
SES is already operating a similar business locally and looked to replicate this model in a custodial setting, training participants to support employment post-release. This required close collaboration with HMP staff to identify suitable candidates. The existing workshop, previously used for motor vehicle training, was also repurposed with assistance from staff and participants.
Over four weeks, SES conducted ‘train the trainer’ sessions at its Coventry facility as well as at the HMP Stoke Heath workshop, ensuring staff were well-prepared to operate safely and effectively within the prison environment.
Our Reimagining Talent programme helps prisoners to prepare for the workplace and find a job.
Wates works across multiple MoJ programmes
The Ministry of Justice’s 10 Year Prison Capacity Strategy sets out plans to deliver 14,000 additional prison places by 2031. Central to this ambition is the construction of four new prisons alongside the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate, including temporary accommodation.
Wates Construction is a key delivery partner on the Alliance 4 New Prisons (A4NP) framework, working collaboratively with other tier 1 MoJ contractors to drive pace, quality and productivity at scale.
HMP Welland Oaks, Leicestershire
We are currently constructing HMP Welland Oaks, the second prison in the A4NP programme. Built to a standardised design that continues the success of the MoJ’s pathfinder projects – HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way and HMP Millsike (A4NP) – the scheme maximises repeatability, efficiency and cost certainty while focusing on delivering high quality facilities that support rehabilitation.
The new Category B training prison will provide 1,715 safe, secure and modern accommodation spaces alongside purpose‑built workshops, kitchens and education facilities.
Main works began in 2025, with completion scheduled for 2029. Once operational, HMP Welland Oaks will be one of the most environmentally sustainable prisons in the MoJ estate.
We are delivering new houseblocks at HMP Highpoint, HMP Hindley and HMP Wayland as part of the Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery Programme (AHDP) – a critical strand of the Government’s prison building programme.
The AHDP is designed to rapidly expand capacity across six existing prisons in England and Wales, delivering more than 2,800 additional spaces while maintaining safety and operational continuity.
HMP Highpoint, Suffolk
At HMP Highpoint, we are delivering a landmark expansion that will increase capacity by more than 50%, making it the UK’s largest prison by population. The £330m investment includes three new four storey houseblocks, new kitchens and workshop buildings, plus supporting facilities and infrastructure upgrades all designed with rehabilitation, sustainability and long term value in mind.
We are also a core delivery partner in the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme (SSHP) Alliance, focused on delivering high quality accommodation within existing prison estates, such as HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire, to ease capacity pressures and support rehabilitation.
As part of the alliance, we are also constructing three new houseblocks at HMP Onley, a Category C men’s prison near Rugby in Warwickshire. This is the first SSHP expansion project to enter construction, and will deliver:
- 180 prison spaces
- A dedicated vocational training workshop
- Supporting operational facilities
Once complete in 2026, the scheme will demonstrate how standardisation, collaboration and early contractor involvement can accelerate delivery without compromising quality. All of these learning outcomes will then be applied to HMP Erlestoke to enhance the delivery and build on the certainty of outcome for our customer.
Upgrading and refurbishing the justice estate
Alongside the alliance programmes, we continue to reimagine ageing prison and court infrastructure across the MoJ estate, including upgrading facilities at six further MoJ sites.
Current projects include:
- A houseblock extension at HMP Liverpool
- Maintenance and upgrades at HMP Erlestoke, HMP Risley, HMP Preston and HMP Wymott
- Improvement works at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court
Each project is delivered with a clear focus on operational continuity, safety and transparency.
Exceeding sustainability targets
Sustainability sits at the heart of our purpose of reimagining places for people to thrive. Our work with the Ministry of Justice directly supports our ‘Thriving Planet’ commitment and the ambition for net zero carbon prisons in operation.
Energy efficiency is integral to our planning:
- All new prisons and houseblocks are designed to be fully electric, targeting BREEAM Excellent, or higher, ratings
- Sustainability and energy efficiency are embedded from early design through to operation
- Innovation in materials, construction methods and building services continue to reduce whole‑life carbon
Across our prison projects, we are also setting ambitious Biodiversity Net Gain targets, significantly exceeding the Government’s 10% requirement. Our schemes protect existing trees and hedgerows, create welcoming new habitats for local wildlife such as wetlands for insects and birds, and deliver open spaces for the public to enjoy.
Delivering excellence through partnership
We collaborate closely with the Ministry of Justice across a wide range of projects across the UK, strengthening consistency, enhancing quality, and continually raising the standard of delivery for our customer.
Central to this partnership is a shared purpose: creating safer, higher quality environments that enable people and communities to thrive.
By working in close alignment with the Ministry of Justice, we translate shared learnings into tangible outcomes – raising expectations not only for individual projects, but for the long‑term future of the custodial estate.
