Law Society president urges action after report exposes failures in UK prison system

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President of the Law Society of England and Wales, Mark Evans, commented on the Justice Committee’s report on UK prisons, saying the findings shine “a light on a prison system in desperate need of support and investment”.

Published today (14 November), it urges the government to reform the prison system, warning that current “failures risk undermining the very purpose of imprisonment, to reduce reoffending.” Findings showed that 80% of offending in England and Wales is committed by repeat offenders.

The report outlined a number of issues with the system, such as:

• prison infrastructure in a “state of disrepair” and a £1.8 million maintenance backlog, with no clear plan for government resolution;
• a “widespread failure” to meet the statutory minimum for time out of cells, with many prisoners locked up for 22 hours daily;
• a lack of purposeful activity, with 50% of prisoners not involved in prison education or work;
• high turnover of staff and poor recruitment processes;
• budget cuts of up to 50% to prison education, with 75% of prisons rated “inadequate” or “showing no improvement” by Ofsted in 2024/25;
• remand prisoners making up 20% of the population, the highest level in 50 years, yet often spending long periods in custody before release without support;
• inefficient contracting and procurement; and
• health and wellbeing services failing to meet prisoners’ needs, particularly for women facing complex health issues.

Commenting on the problems discovered, Evans said: “The chaos in our prisons reflects the wider crisis across the criminal justice system. After decades of neglect, it is no surprise that the system is failing the public it serves.

“There is still time for this government to get this crucial public service back from the brink through sustained funding and reform across the whole criminal justice system.”

The report called on the government to make a number of changes, including:

• formalising and standardising time out of cell, with data published;
• providing staff with more support and annual training;
• ensuring prisoners have access to core education, and addressing operational barriers to education delivery;
• giving remand prisoners access to all parts of the regime, should they choose to participate;
• providing a clear and comprehensive overview of how the system is managing current procurement contracts; and
• setting out a clear plan to meet the health and wellbeing needs of women in custody.

Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter commented: “Prison rehabilitation and efforts to break the cycle of reoffending aren’t working and cannot succeed in a system which is facing critical pressures on so many fronts.”

Slaughter added: “Ministers must act fast to fix the basics and give greater attention to purposeful rehabilitation programmes across jails. Continuing with a cyclical system in crisis mode which offers little real opportunity to turn around prisoners’ lives is a false economy.”