Michael Gove to call for prisoners who study hard to get early release
|
Version 0 of 1. Prisoners who work hard for qualifications while behind bars could be allowed to leave prison early under an “earned release” scheme, the justice secretary, Michael Gove, will suggest. In his first major speech on prisons policy, Gove is due to say that more can be done to provide the right incentives for prisoners to learn, as well as calling for prison staff to give a higher priority to the education of those behind bars. The justice secretary has asked his department look at how a system of earned release could operate in detail. It is likely to apply to most of the 86,000 prisoners who are serving fixed-term sentences and are currently automatically released when they reach the halfway point. Gove is understood to be looking at bringing automatic release to an end, and taking achievements such as education and work into account to determine a prisoner’s actual release date. One option being examined is for prisoners who qualify to leave prison earlier, but complete their sentence under a home curfew monitored by an electronic tag. Related: Prisons 'at their worst level for 10 years' The Conservatives first floated the idea of earned release in 2008 as an alternative to automatic release at the halfway point of a prison term, but estimated it might need an extra 5,000 prison places to accommodate those who failed to respond to the incentive. The former education secretary has also indicated that he is prepared to end the current system of Whitehall centrally contracting out prison education, and instead give governors the power to determine who provides education courses in their jails. Prison education is currently organised through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, not the Ministry of Justice, with regional contracts let to providers such as A4E, the Manchester College and the Milton Keynes College. Ofsted has said that standards of education are inadequate, or in need of improvement, in three out of every five prisons. The current education contracts are due to be renewed in July 2016, giving the justice secretary an opportunity to reassess the whole provision. Gove will cite evidence from the chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, that “too many inmates spend their days lying on their bunks in squalid cells watching daytime television” and say there must be an end to the idleness and futility of so many prisoners’ days. He is to say: “In prisons there is a literally captive population whose inability to read properly or master basic mathematics makes them prime candidates for reoffending. Ensuring those offenders become literate and numerate makes them employable and thus contributors to society, not a problem for society.” He will say the failure to teach prisoners properly is indefensible, given the armed forces have already demonstrated that it is possible to teach poorly educated adults to a basic level of literacy and numeracy using tried and tested methods. Related: Ban on friends and family sending books to prisoners is lifted Gove will tell a London event hosted by the Prisoner Learning Alliance: “I fear the reason for that is, as things stand, we do not have the right incentives for prisoners to learn or for prison staff to prioritise education. And that’s got to change. “I am attracted to the idea of earned release for those offenders who make a commitment to serious educational activity, who show by their changed attitude that they wish to contribute to society and who work hard to acquire proper qualifications, which are externally validated and respected by employers. “I think more could be done to attach privileges in prison to attendance and achievement in education. But I believe the tools to drive that change need to be in the hands of governors.” However, with a new round of austerity cuts on the way for his unprotected department, it is unlikely Gove can afford to introduce the measure in such a way that it leads to a further increase in the prison population. It is more likely to be used to encourage inmates to leave prison earlier. More control for prison governors over the provision of education in their jails could make courses far more demanding and imaginative, with those governors achieving the best results rewarded for their success. A recent report from the Prisoner Learning Alliance said one major problem with prison education was the concentration of provision on basic skills: It quoted one prisoner learner as saying: “It is all about level 1 and 2, no GCSEs or A-levels. This is good for short-term prisoners, but when you are in long-term prison doing life you complete them within a couple of years, then there is nothing left to do.” |