Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Accepted
Operating prisons at full capacity negatively impacts regimes, prisoners, and victims of crime
Recommendation
We asked MoJ what it had done to understand the impact of the crisis on prisoners and prisoner outcomes.82 MoJ said that the fact it had managed to continue running such a full estate was a testament to the huge efforts of its staff and those in the wider justice system, who were dealing with increased workloads. While HMPPS told us it had done everything it could to get out of this position, it acknowledged that running the estate at full capacity inevitably impacts on prison regimes. It added that the crisis also significantly impacts victims of crime, as early release schemes used to manage capacity pressures are not what victims would want.83 77 Q 66 78 PEC0007, PEC0008, PEC0009 79 PEC0008 80 PEC0011 81 PEC008 82 Q 65 83 Q 65 16 Effective rehabilitation and reducing reoffending
Government Response Summary
The government has mandated prisons to set out planned delivery against agreed national priorities, including increasing the quantity and quality of purposeful and rehabilitative activity, and is implementing a substantial evaluation programme to understand the impact of initiatives and programmes on reoffending outcomes.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.11 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: April 2025 5.12 Action is underway to improve delivery through the national regime model. This annual cycle mandates prisons to set out their planned delivery, against the agreed national priorities which for 2025-26 specifically asks prisons to focus on increasing the quantity and quality of purposeful and rehabilitative activity. Governors are held to account through performance management systems to increase attendance across the totality of purposeful activity and understand the barriers to access dependant on the specific issues, which could include the capacity issues, impacting each establishment. 5.13 A substantial evaluation programme is underway to understand the impact of initiatives and programmes on reoffending outcomes.