British authorities have announced the expansion of a prison in Kent county, which will receive almost 250 additional places for inmates. The project is part of a larger programme to increase the capacity of the country's prison system, described as the largest since the Victorian era. The expansion of prison facilities is linked to growing pressure on Britain's penitentiary system, where overcrowding in correctional institutions has been recorded in recent years. The government views the construction and expansion of prisons as a way to address this problem alongside other measures, such as changes to the sentencing system. The Kent initiative will be part of a national strategy aimed at modernising and increasing the country's prison infrastructure, many of whose facilities were built in the 19th century and need updating to meet modern standards for the detention of inmates.