Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
MoJ projects continued prison crowding, impacting resettlement activity and rehabilitation outcomes
Recommendation
According to MoJ’s most recent estimate, reoffending in England and Wales costs society approximately £18 billion a year (2017–2018 prices).84 Given MoJ’s and HMPPS’s acknowledgement that crowding impacts prison regimes and can reduce access to purposeful activity and harm rehabilitation, we asked MoJ what level of crowding it had factored into its latest projections.85 It told us that its supply projections assume that around a quarter of the estate (23.6%) would continue to be crowded. However, it noted that this does not commit it to using crowding at this level in the future.86 MoJ was candid that given high occupancy levels, it had set the safety of its staff and prisoners as its priority, and accepted that this had reduced time available for resettlement activity and would therefore affect rehabilitation outcomes.87
Government Response Summary
Action is underway to improve delivery through the national regime model, which mandates prisons to set out their planned delivery against the agreed national priorities and a substantial evaluation programme is underway 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.