A new report highlights that prison overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure is having a ‘profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation’.

The report, published by the Justice Committee and entitled “Ending the cycle of reoffending – part one: rehabilitation in prisons” describes ‘dire’ living conditions in prisons, which are ‘potentially in violation of human rights legislation.’

The report calls on the Government to safeguard rehabilitation in prisons and warns that failures to do so ‘risk undermining the very purpose of imprisonment – to reduce reoffending.’ It recommends that all prisoners have much greater access to meaningful activity – and for time out of cell to be formalised, standardised, and its data to be made publicly available. The report also urges the Government to clarify the rationale behind the planned reduction in prison education budgets, which continues to raise alarm:

I have serious concerns about the impact of real-term education budget cuts on already inadequate provision and about the lack of real appetite and ambition for improvement that this represents. The prison service has a duty to protect the public by making prisoners less likely to reoffend when they are released, but too often it is failing to fulfil this responsibility. There is little doubt that many prisoners already leave jail and return to criminality, creating more victims of crime. These devastating cuts are likely to make this situation worse. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor 

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