Thank you for contacting me about the prison system.
It is true that our prison system has faced many challenges over recent years. This has been a result of population changes, changes in the nature of crimes being committed and more general developments in our society. However, the Government is acting to transition towards a more efficient, safe and environmentally sustainable prison estate.
I welcome the fact that the Government is continuing the biggest prison building programme in more than a century. As part of this, £4 billion of investment will create 20,000 modern and innovative prison places, ensuring the right conditions are in place to truly rehabilitate prisoners. This will give prisoners the education, skills and addiction support they need to live crime-free lives on release, helping to cut crime and protect the public. To achieve this, sixteen prisons across the country are to be expanded through new houseblocks and refurbishments.
The Government has also taken steps to improve safety in prisons. For example, 75 cutting-edge X-ray body scanners have been installed and, through this tougher airport-style security which has been rolled out across the prison estate in England and Wales, almost 20,000 attempts to smuggle illegal contraband behind bars have been intercepted. Furthermore, over 40 of the most challenging prisons have been kitted out with an array of additional new technology including drug-trace machines and metal detection archways.
In addition, the Prison Strategy White Paper sets out the Government's vision for prisons of the future. I am encouraged that it seeks views on how the proposals can bring down high rates of re-offending, cut crime and protect the public from harm.
People who commit serious crimes are sent to prison as punishment, but they must also be places of safety and rehabilitation. We must turn prisons from places of mere containment into places of discipline, hard work, and self-improvement, where offenders get the education and skills they need to find work and turn their back on crime for good.
The Government remains committed to a mixed market for the delivery of services in the justice system. Building partnerships between the private, the public and voluntary sectors does not only provide greater diversity of provision and innovation than the public sector alone but also offers the taxpayer value for money. This is a sensible approach resisting ideological calls to spend taxpayer’s money in a sector regardless of value and effectiveness.
The importance of improving prisoners' functional, vocational and life skills cannot be emphasised enough. Indeed, it is key in supporting wider rehabilitation and reducing re-offending on release. I welcome that the Prison Strategy confirmed that a new Prisoner Education Service will make sure offenders can improve their basic literacy and numeracy, as well as acquire further vocational qualifications, such as construction and computing, to make them more employable when they leave prison. This will be in addition to recent reforms allowing Governors to deploy education services, supported by 23 Employment Hubs, to meet specific and targeted needs of their prison population and local economies.
I can assure you that prisoners get the same healthcare and treatment as anyone outside of prison. Treatment is free and is approved by a prison doctor or member of the healthcare team. It is also the case that all prisoners should be able to spend between 30 minutes and an hour outside in the open air each day. Additionally, prisoners can receive help to obtain medical assistance upon release through the NHS Reconnect Scheme.
I appreciate your concerns about reports prisoners are using mobile phones. It is illegal for inmates to have personal mobile phones in prison and those caught with one can have up to two years added on to their sentence.
The Government has invested £100 million to combat crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones. Since 2020, an additional 75 x-ray body scanners have been installed, bringing the total to 97 and providing coverage to the entire closed male estate. As of April 2022, there have been approximately 20,000 positive indications recorded. I understand that a full evaluation of the security
investments is underway and will be published in due course. Further deployment of x-ray body scanners across the prison estate will be informed by the results of this evaluation.
In addition to this, the Government is working to enhance mobile blocking technology.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.