Minister of State for Prisons (): Today I am publishing
the Government response to the Prisons Strategy White Paper
consultation.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper was published in December 2021.
The commitments in the paper tackle this Government’s priorities
for prisons: building the next generation of prisons and managing
an estate that is safe and secure for staff and prisoners;
supporting rehabilitation and resettlement through education,
employment and accommodation; and creating prison and probation
services that cut crime and protect the public.
19 questions were included in the White Paper to ensure the views
of interested parties were considered. The consultation opened on
the 7 December 2021 and closed on the 4 February 2022, receiving
155 responses. The Government has carefully considered the
responses and is grateful for all of the contributions.
Since publication of the White Paper, this Government has moved
swiftly to deliver its aims:
- HMP Five Wells opened in March, delivering 1,700 modernised
places.
- Digital upgrades have been delivered to a further 7 prisons,
with 4 additional sites completed by October 2022.
- The landmark Security Investment Programme was completed in
March 2022, including the deployment of Enhanced Gate Security
across 42 high-risk sites.
- Committed an additional £25m investment in prison security:
installing high-specification drugs trace detection, mobile phone
blocking technology, x-ray baggage scanners, and an Intelligence
Management System.
- Secured £34m to improve prison safety and move towards a more
preventative approach.
- Accelerated the roll out of Employment Hubs with 23 now
established and the appointment of 20 Employment Board Chairs.
- Announced that we will legislate to enable prisoner
apprenticeships, in collaboration with the Department for
Education.
- Committed to action on Friday releases to tackle the strain
this can cause if prisoners cannot access essential services;
this includes pursing legislation to address this issue for those
at risk of reoffending, when parliamentary time allows.
- Plans to open a Residential Women’s Centre in Wales to
provide a community-based alternative to a short custodial
sentence.
- Launched our staff retention toolkit into all prisons
alongside a number of new initiatives to support retention,
including a new buddy scheme.
- Key Performance Indicators, introduced in April 2022, set
clear expectations of delivery, and Governors will be held to
account as part of their performance reviews.
As the consultation response makes clear, this is the start of an
ambitious delivery plan in the years to come and the Government
is committed to continued engagement with stakeholders to ensure
we deliver on it.
Today, I lay in Parliament this response, which sets out the
views of respondents to our consultation questions and how the
government proposes to implement the commitments in the White
Paper.
Prisons Strategy White
Paper: response to consultation questions
Prisons Strategy White
Paper
