British officials recently visited Tartu prison and said they were appreciative of the facilities and security there, the Estonian justice ministry has said.

While the U.K. is experiencing serious overcrowding in prisons, in Estonia the story is the opposite, with many cells lying vacant.

Renting out prison facilities to the U.K. and other selected European countries could bring in an estimated €30 million per year to Estonian state coffers, Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) has said. It would also create jobs – the prisons would be staffed by Estonian employees under the plan – and bring other economic and security benefits.

Pakosta told The Telegraph: "The U.K. and Estonia have a history of successful international cooperation, and such a partnership would create further opportunities to benefit and learn from each other."

The minister highlighted what she called the U.K. prison system's reputation for safe, secure prisons and its rehabilitative opportunities, adding that several other nations have demonstrated interest in renting Estonia's unused prison space.

The plan would be subject to Riigikogu approval.

Britain's new Justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, discussed the matter further, on the sidelines of a Council of Europe event in Vilnius on Thursday.

While in opposition, Britain's Labour Party had criticized the plan to outsource prison services and to send inmates to Estonia as floated by the previous Conservative administration, but since entering office in July the plan has been revisited, due to the overcrowding situation, which The Independent described as "chronic."

The plan has not been met with universal approval in Estonia, however, including within the government.

Interior minister and Social Democrats (SDE) chair Lauri Läänemets has expressed doubts about Pakosta's proposal, saying: "We have many questions regarding various issues," pointing first to internal security.

Läänemets also expressed concerns about the image of Estonia as being somewhere where other nations offload their excess prison population.

"Should we envision Estonia as a country where others send their wrongdoers? Estonia's reputation should be that of a digital nation, a hub of innovation or something along those lines — not a place where people rejected by society are sent. I believe that over time, this would affect Estonia's image, and that's probably not for the better," he said.

Last month in the U.K. there were reportedly just 83 cells left spare in England and Wales, at a time when unrest and riots, stoked on social media, have led to a surge in arrests.

The current U.K. prison population of around 89,000 is projected to rise to around 100,000 or higher in the next two to three years, with each inmate costing about €50,000 to house.

At the same time, any country offering to rent out vacant cells will likely be in a strong bargaining position.

There is also a precedent: Belgium has previously rented prison space from the neighboring Netherlands, as has Norway.

The Netherlands, along with Sweden, was another nation Pakosta mentioned in her original memo making the proposal, issued last month.

Tartu prison, one of three such facilities nationwide, is earmarked under the rental plan as it stands. Alternatives would be closure or sale, which Pakosta has said are less favorable uses.

Further developments on the potential prison rental cooperation deal between Estonia and the U.K., or another NATO member state, will depend on formal decision from the Estonian government the Ministry of Justice has said.

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