Justice secretary’s ‘reform prisons’ would include more focus on educating inmates to reduce risk of reoffending after release

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Prison governors could be given greater powers to educate, punish and reform inmates under plans being considered by Michael Gove to relax the grip of Whitehall on the penal system.

The justice secretary wants a greater focus on education in prisons and more businesses working with inmates to reduce the risk of reoffending after release.

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.

Under his plans, governors could be given new powers over budgets, education and even the perks offered to prisoners for good behaviour.

The minister was also considering extending a scheme under which inmates are allowed out of jail on licence in preparation for their release, the Times reported.

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

“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, 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 shakeups such as foundation hospitals and academy schools – championed by Gove during his time as education secretary – which have a greater degree of independence.

He said: “If you are a headteacher 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 frontline 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.”

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Gove encouraged governors to get more businesses working with inmates, praising the work done by the key-cutting and shoe repair firm Timpson.

“We should definitely have more businesses going into prisons – you could have businesses running in prisons. Timpson in some cases train in prisons, in another prison I visited they have a call centre. Some are conducting market research or answering queries.”

Gove acknowledged some central government involvement would have to remain in the system on issues such as pay and security requirements.

“If the worst comes to the worst and something desperately bad happens – like a prison riot – there must be a national response,” he said.

The justice secretary also confirmed he was looking at plans to sell off inner-city jails on prime land for development in order to fund more modern prisons.