Novus welcomes prison capacity strategy and calls for focus on reducing reoffending

Leading prison education provider Novus has welcomed the clarity provided by the government’s new strategy for prisons.

Under the 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, the government has confirmed its plans to build four new prisons over the next seven years, creating 6,400 new places. But Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that “building alone is not enough” to deal with the critical lack of space in UK jails.

Responding to the announcement, Novus Managing Director Peter Cox commented: “The clarity and certainty provided by a 10-year plan for prisons is a welcome development as it enables the entire justice system to work collaboratively towards shared goals and objectives.

“We share the Justice Secretary’s recognition that ‘building alone is not enough’. We look forward to the recommendations which will come out of the independent Review of Sentencing led by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, which will set out how the government can achieve its ambition of reducing reoffending through supporting prisoners into sustainable employment upon release.

“Through Novus’ work with individuals from all walks of life across the prison estate, we know that offenders’ time in custody can be used positively to enable those furthest from the labour market to gain the skills they will need to access employment opportunities. It is crucial that the government builds on existing good practice with a funding commitment to enable prison regimes to invest in education and skills.”

In a 2023 survey commissioned by Novus, 55% of voters in the UK said that prisons should focus on rehabilitation more than punishment, with 68% of respondents saying that educating prisoners and developing their skills is a good way to use taxpayers’ money.

Cox continued: “Reoffending costs the economy £18 billion every year according to Ministry of Justice data, and education is proven to reduce reoffending by 7.5 percentage points, clearly demonstrating that programmes of education and skills in prison represent a good return on investment for the tax payer.”