Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 6
7th Report – Ending the cycle of reoffending – part one: rehabilitation in prisons
Published 14 Nov 2025
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Rehabilitation and resettlement: ending the cycle of reoffending All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government must produce a comprehensive, public workforce plan for the prison system (including the women’s and children’s estate) for the next fifteen years, modelled on the process used for the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with commencement of that planning process within three months. This plan should include targets to reduce the number of vacancies at each grade. (Recommendation, Paragraph 36)
From: Justice Committee, 7th Report – Ending the cycle of reoffending – part one: rehabilitation in prisons (HC 469), 14 November 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 30 January 2026 (deadline 14 January 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it has accepted ten of the Committee's recommendations, partially accepted twelve and rejected four, and sets out its reasons for the rejections in the response.
- On workforce data, the Government rejects publishing vacancy rates, retirement eligibility and skilled worker visa figures separately, saying existing publications cover related data and that visa publication is "not deemed to be a cost-effective use of public money".
- On a prison workforce plan, it accepts the recommendation to publish one, but says the "format and timing" will be determined "in the coming months".
- It accepts training on procurement and contract management for Governors, stating that "All Prison Governors will receive practical training and support on procurement and contract management within 12 months."
- It rejects publishing time out of cell data for every prison, concluding that such a metric "would be challenging" and preferring to measure time spent in purposeful activity.