New measures to tackle prison drones, drugs and boost employment

• Technology firms to develop counter-drone solutions for prisons, while drug-free living units rolled out further across the estate.
• Construction skills programme and new digital service to help prisoners into work and accommodation on release.
• Tough and visible community payback projects nominated by local people will be prioritised.

New measures to improve prison security, tackle drug use and help offenders into work and stable accommodation have been announced by the Lord Chancellor today (28 September), as part of efforts to cut crime and reduce reoffending. 

The package includes the next phase of a £6.5 million UK Research Innovation investment to develop new tools to tackle drones around prisons. Technology firms are being invited to bid for a share of up to £900,000 to test new solutions that help protect staff and clamp down on the smuggling of contraband behind bars. 

There will also be an expansion of drug recovery units to a further 12 prisons, bringing the total to 100 across the estate. The specialist units help offenders address the substance abuse which often fuels their offending. 

The Lord Chancellor, Alex Norris, also set out plans to get more offenders into work and stable accommodation to reduce reoffending. A new skills programme will link offender training directly to jobs and work experience in the construction sector with offenders helping build the new homes the country needs, while a new digital service will ensure staff can find suitable housing for prison leavers more easily.

Changes to Community Payback will also place greater priority on tough, visible projects nominated by local people such as cleaning graffiti and improving public spaces, ensuring offenders make a clearer contribution to the communities they've harmed. 

Tackling drones around prisons

Technology companies will be invited to develop and test new ways of tackling drones around prisons.  

This follows £35 million announced in June to strengthen security at our most at-risk prisons, including heavy duty window grilles, helping stop drones being used to smuggle drugs, weapons and phones that fuel violence behind bars. 

There were 1,497 recorded drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the year to March 2026. 

Expanding substance-free living in prisons

Incentivised Substance-Free Living units will be expanded to a further 12 prisons by the end of 2027/28, helping tackle drug use, build sustainable recovery and improve safety in prisons. 

The units provide dedicated accommodation for prisoners who commit to living without illicit drugs, with regular drug testing and support to help them remain substance-free and where needed build sustainable recovery for example through access to Mutual Aid organisations. 

Incentivised Substance-Free Living units are not the only places that people can access drug treatment and recovery services in prison, but they are dedicated spaces in prisons for those who are committed to living drug free and or are committing to their recovery from addiction.

They are currently funded in 88 prisons, with research showing prisoners on effectively run units were more than 30% less likely to be involved in violence, self-harm or disorder. 

Connecting prison training with construction jobs

The Future Skills Programme will be expanded to strengthen the pathway of prison leavers into construction jobs, with around 750 prisoners expected to benefit. Training and work experience will be designed for the sector, while new Construction Academies will have direct links with employers in the community.

Employers and training providers will equip prisoners with skills needed by the sector and provide opportunities for eligible prisoners to gain work experience on Release on Temporary Licence, subject to risk assessment, and move into jobs after release.

Evidence shows ex-prisoners with a job are up to nine percentage points less likely to reoffend. In the year to March 2026, 36.5% of prison leavers were in work six months after release.

Prioritising visible Community Payback

Greater priority will be given to the tough and visible Community Payback projects nominated by the public, while strengthening opportunities for offenders to gain recognition for the skills they develop through unpaid work 

People can already nominate projects through GOV.UK, including graffiti removal, litter picking, clearing wasteland and improving public spaces. A new framework will provide a consistent approach to prioritising this work across England and Wales. 

More than 1.1 million hours of Community Payback were completed in the three months to December 2025 up 5% on the same period a year earlier. 

Plans are being developed to train supervisors as NVQ assessors so the skills offenders gain  through unpaid work can earn nationally recognised qualifications whilst paying back their communities, helping improve their employment prospects. 

Improving access to accommodation

A new digital system, Find and Manage Accommodation, will be rolled out nationally, giving prison and probation staff a single digital service to help them find suitable accommodation and support for offenders. 

Having somewhere stable to live is closely linked to reducing reoffending: the latest published evidence shows adult offenders with no accommodation on release had a reoffending rate almost twice that of those with accommodation 72% compared with 38%. 

In the year to March 2026, 83% of prison leavers were housed on the night following release.