3 Oct 2015

Michael Gove plans radical prison reforms

Not so much a prison, more a piece of prime real estate: the government has confirmed it’s considering selling off jails in inner city areas to fund modernisation plans.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove has revealed prison governors could also get more powers over budgets and education, to help reduce the risk of inmates re-offending after they’re released.

Mr Gove wants a greater focus on education in prisons and more businesses working with inmates to help reduce the risk of reoffending when offenders are released.

Speaking to The Times Mr Gove said under the current system “we don’t devote nearly enough time to educating them” and giving prisoners the skills needed to succeed on the outside.

Mr Gove told the newspaper that “central to this job is making sure that people are less likely to commit crime after they leave prison”.

He said: “We are responsible for these people; we can determine what they do, who they see, what happens to them 24 hours a day and we don’t devote nearly enough time to educating them, to making sure that when they are being educated that they are getting the proper qualifications and providing them with the skills that they need in order to succeed in the world of work.”

His plans for “reform prisons” echo other public service shake-ups such as foundation hospitals or academy schools – championed by Mr Gove during his time in charge of the Department for Education – which have a greater degree of independence.

He said: “If you are a head teacher or an NHS manager, you have considerable freedom. The whole thrust of public service reform has been about giving more power to people at the front line and then holding them accountable for outcomes.

“The prison system is behind the curve. A great deal of what a prison governor does is constrained by very tight central regulation.”