Is the Pr*son system fit for purpose?

The Pr*son system in England and Wales is in a very bad place. Buildings are crumbling, some dangerously so. Levels of violence, self-harm and drug use are shockingly high, and educational opportunities for prisoners are becoming more limited due to long waiting lists for courses, which in turn increases the lack of purpose for prisoners while they are serving their sentence.
Added to this decline are cuts implemented by the coalition government as part of their austerity programme to Pr*son officer numbers in the early 2010s, which have still not been reversed despite an ever-expanding Pr*son population. These cuts meant that a lot of new and inexperienced Pr*son officers took their place, lacking the training and experience to deal with serious incidents within prisons.
The increasing Pr*son population became so serious that between September 2024 and June 2025, around 40,000 prisoners were released early as part of an emergency scheme by the current Labour government to ease overcrowding.
What is the future of prisons in the UK? Do prisons actually work as a form of rehabilitation, especially with the Pr*son estate and system in continuous deterioration?

Speaker: Paula Harriott is the CEO of Unlock, an independent charity based in the UK that campaigns for the equality of reformed offenders. She has also worked with the Prisons Reform Trust.

Chair: Chris Akers

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