Prisons reform legislation a casualty of general ection call
Work on the Prisons and Courts Bill has stopped
The decision to call a general election has stopped work on the Prisons and Courts Bill. This ‘resets the clock on much needed prison reform plans and creates uncertainty about the future of the Bill’, according to the Prison Reform Trust.
When the Bill was published earlier this year, Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: ‘It is sixty-five years since it last happened, so the publication of a Prisons Bill is obviously an important moment. There is plenty to welcome – especially a statutory commitment to rehabilitation. But the Bill is also notable for what it does not contain – for example, nothing to control the demand for prison and no mention of decency or justice as the foundations of a rehabilitative system.’
Commenting on the withdrawal of the Bill, Peter Dawson said: ‘The Prisons and Courts Bill, while far from perfect, had achieved cross-party support and contained some valuable measures to make prisons fit for the twenty-first century. With levels of safety, decency and fairness continuing to slide, the fall of the Bill as a result of the election must not derail the vital job of prison reform.
The next government, whatever its political complexion, should reintroduce a prisons bill as a top priority.’
