Select committee: Justice and Home Affairs Committee

1st Report - Better prisons: less crime

Published 16 July 2025

At a glanceGovernment response published 22 September 2025 (deadline 16 September 2025)

The government's response

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

The government's covering letter states that it is accepting 19 of the Committee's recommendations, partially accepting 15 and rejecting 1.

It rejects the recommendation that the prisons minister should always be a Minister of State, because the Prime Minister has "overall responsibility for the organisation of the Executive" and advises the Sovereign on ministerial appointments.
On local governor involvement in recruitment it partially accepts. Changes to the central process are scheduled for "quarter 4 of 2025/26", followed by evaluation, after which "further consideration" will be given to face-to-face interviews with senior staff.
It accepts the proposal for a Prison Service Medal in principle. The proposal will be shared "later this year" with the Honours Committee before going to the King for final approval, and "if approved" it will work with the Cabinet Office to introduce it.
It does not accept a combined Inspectorate, saying separate inspectorates ensure "appropriate and tailored scrutiny", though the Ministry of Justice is "open to reviewing how scrutiny bodies operate".

No recommendations or conclusions have been extracted from this report. This is normal for correspondence and for special reports.