7th Special Report - Prison Population 2022: Planning for the future: Government Response to the Committee’s Sixteenth Report of 2017–19

This is the government's response, published 11 June 2019.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's report, agrees with much of it, including that there is a case for reform of short custodial sentences, and says it will reflect on the recommendations in developing its approach.

• On legislating for the purpose of prisons, the government has "no immediate plans to legislate" but will consider this, alongside putting the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on a statutory footing, "if Parliamentary time becomes available".
• On short sentences, it is "exploring options to restrict the use of short sentences but at this stage have not reached any conclusions". It also says there is a "strong case to abolish sentences of six months or less, with some exceptions".
• It disagrees that it lacks longer-term staffing plans for HMPPS, and says it has committed to continue recruitment at a rate that replaces those who leave (approximately 2,000 to 2,500 prison officers).
• It is developing a long-term prison estate strategy; the strategy and a summary of the condition survey findings "will be published in due course".

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