A Charity or philanthropic institution could run a prison better than the state or a private company

Last week we debated prison reform in the House of Commons and I raised the need for alternative providers. At present, there are only two providers: the state and since the 1990's there are private companies. I want a charity or philanthropic institution to address this problem and take over a lower category prison and provide a different approach. After all we allow schools to be run by charities, businesses and faiths, so why not prisons?
The third sector magazine has done an interesting review of the debate here:
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Governance/article/1292673/tory-backbencher-floats-concept-charity-run-prisons/

This idea I first addressed in 2012 in the Commons and put in my book Doing Time. There is a full chapter entitled "Big Society Prisons".

The full debate from last week is here:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2014-04-30a.302.0&s=speaker%3A24962#g303.0

Criminal Justice & Courts Bill Committee will dominate my next 3 weeks in the Commons

We have committee sessions morning and afternoon March 18,20,25,27 and April 1, starting at 8.55 and usually ending at 5. When people ask why parliament is often empty on parliament channel tv this is the reason. At any given time members will be sitting on a bill committee scrutinising it line by line, or on a select committee whether it is health, transport or treasury - every department has a select committee, or in Westminster Hall, the second chamber of the House of Commons where we have lesser but often more local debates. So if you want to know where I am on these days it will be in committee not in the main chamber. The Bill looks to reform prisons, sentences, juries, the courts, and tidies up a number of different areas in the justice department. As always with all Bills the first draft is not the final draft as we go through multiple assessments of the Bill, as does the House of Lords, until hopefully we take a piece of legislation that is 80% right and turn it into something that is watertight, reforming, and makes sense. The process takes many months. This committee is merely one stage of that, and the committee is cross party.  It is televised but I confess I am not totally clear where you can find this, but it will be available. There are daily transcripts. If you want to read my cross examination of witnesses in the first evidence sessions [or any part of proceedings] go here for the first session, which was concerning Magistrates, IPPs, and Prison Reform, with the Howard League and the Criminal Justice Alliance: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/pbc/2013-14/Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Bill/01-0_2014-03-11a.3.0?s=speaker%3A24962#g3.51
And here for my questioning of the representatives of the Bar Council and Law Society on issues of judicial review, protective costs orders, judicial discretion and costs: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/pbc/2013-14/Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Bill/02-0_2014-03-11a.7.0?s=speaker%3A24962#g7.97
It is not for me to judge the evidence of the people who gave up their time to appear before members of the committee. The majority are unpaid or are appearing as representatives of their part of an affected business or third sector organisation. Some are more helpful and assisting than others. Some changed my mind with their evidence. Others, particularly on the second session, I am afraid changed my mind against the witness. However, one thing is clear: as a committee we are grateful to all for attending.

Westminster this week

The Mandela tribute takes place tomorrow in the Commons at 2.30 - I shall be there.
Prison Reform and Literacy then dominate my week in Westminster: Monday sees an event with the Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) to launch its first year findings in Parliament. Given the rapid change within prisons and through-the-gate services under the Offender Rehabilitation Bill it is crucial to ensure that the role of learning is championed to reduce reoffending rates. It will be an opportunity to discuss the PLA’s first report ‘Smart Rehabilitation: learning how to get better outcomes’, with the keynote speech from Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. I have written and spoken on this issue a lot – notably in my book, Doing Time.


Tuesday there is Treasury Questions, and a chance to debate Ed Balls proposals to borrow even more, and tax people more, followed by the debate on the National Insurance Contributions Bill, which helps businesses.

Wednesday is Prime Ministers Questions and in the afternoon I will be attending and then speaking very briefly at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Literacy, who are publishing the final report from the Youth Literacy and Employability Commission. Most of Wednesday I will be involved in Home office business debates in Westminster Hall at 9.30, and then in committee at 1.30 on the Private Members Bill – the Citizenship (Armed Forces) Bill of my colleague Jonathan Lord.

Details of the Bill’s passage through the House of Commons can be found here:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/citizenshiparmedforces.html

Home Affairs Select Cttee chair, Keith Vaz praises my book, Doing Time, in the Commons

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-11-12a.790.1&s=speaker%3A24962#g791.0
It is a good exchange. Not sure I agree with the answer of the Minister. I find it bizarre that a labour politician and I are on the same side of the argument on this issue of stopping drugs getting into prison.

Westminster this week

Four days in Westminster this week, then heading north on Friday to open the Trinity Court Housing Project of ISOS, and appear on the Sunday Politics in the North East on BBC1. The Westminster week features a private meeting with the Business Minister Michael Fallon today, Justice Questions on the issue of prison reform tomorrow plus further debate on the Lobbying Bill this week. I also have meetings with Richard Benyon, the Agriculture Minister and the key officers of the APG on Arch Cru are having a meeting with Hugh Aldous, the man charged with the task of recovering as many of the losers money as is possible in this sorry saga. I will try and get called at PMQs on Wednesday.
On the issue of the Lobbying Bill it is still being revised and I welcome all the emails I have received. On this occasion I have not gone through all the 38 Degrees legal advice or responded piecemeal as the Bill is constantly changing in Committee and debate, which is what happens on all Bills - a fact that seems to pass by the 38 degrees organisation. We spend days responding to the 38 degrees campaigns, and will send out the full response at the conclusion of the Bill process, but the key point is this:
The registration and spending limits apply to all third parties that incur controlled expenditure. Charities and any other third parties, will only be required to register and then comply with the spending limits, if they are undertaking activities that can reasonably be regarded as intended to promote or procure the electoral success of a party or candidate.
The Bill, put simply, requires those who want to influence the outcome at a General Election to be transparent in doing so, while preserving the freedom to speak out on issues which Civil Society has always enjoyed in this country.

Bear in mind my campaign budget in Hexham at the last election was around £10,000 - the figure is restricted by law, and the expenditure very tightly controlled and fully transparent. A similar rule applies for county council elections. Any third party charity or campaign group can outspend the
candidate by many times. I do not consider such very limited regulation of third party, charities, and campaign groups to be wrong.
Making this process more transparent is a good thing in my view. As I say, I read all the emails and will happily respond to individual voters and the actual 38 Degrees team - who now will interestingly not reply to my letters - but it is my intention to vote for the Bill.

IEA Lecture on Prison Reform

On stage at 9am tomorrow advocating a new approach to prisons. After all with a 65%+ fail rate and a cost of £50,000 per prisoner a year you would expect change and rehabilitation. Einstein was right -
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
We need to take a different approach to how we treat prisoners in prison focusing less on warehousing and more on literacy, stopping drug use and the teaching of skills. Only then will we be able to mentor these men and women back into work and a normal life.
Surely the key is - what are the results of incarceration? Does it stop offending on release? At present the answer is no.
Prison numbers go up and up
1945- 10,000
1993- 43,000
2013- 86,000
The solution is not longer sentences but a better sentence. I believe the payment by results model as practised in the privatised prisons like Doncaster and Peterborough are the way ahead. They incentivise the teams of officers, governor, and prison staff to help change prisoners behaviour. The approach is very different to a traditional state prison.

"Every society gets the criminal it deserves.
Every community decides upon the the kind of law enforcement, justice, prison and rehabilitation it deserves."
Robert Kennedy, with a little help from GO

Prison reform with the BBC

Chris Connell and I outside the Hexham Gaol. Chris describes himself as "an actor, presenter, guitarist and fisherman."
I spent an afternoon with the Beeb and Chris in August in preparation for their programme on prison reform, which they are looking to broadcast in early September. We filmed at length in the wonderful Hexham Gaol. If you have not visited you must go.

IEA Conference this weekend - speaking on prison reform and regional banking

I have plans to speak at the IEA's summer conference this weekend
I shall be talking on the issue of prison reform, plans for prisons that both pay by the results - ie reduction of reoffending and better rehab, and the ideas for both community and private prisons in the brave new world where the state does not know best. Victorian prisons with no emphasis on changing the prisoner as opposed to warehousing them are not the way forward. We want innovative ideas, officers directly involved in the change mentality, proper mentoring and a different attitude seen at places like HMP Doncaster and Peterborough.
If academies and foundation hospitals can transform their sector why not prisons? This is building on the work of the book I published last year, Doing Time:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doing-Time-Prisons-21st-Century/dp/1909099031
I shall also be leading an evening seminar on community banks and the localisation of banking services in an increasingly globalised world.
Both ideas are for me key policy changes and I have high hopes for community banking to address local lending issues, particularly in relation to fuel poverty and oil buying.
I will also be going to listen and debate with professors and various leading thinkers from around Europe who will be debating and discussing multiple issues including education reform, improvement in health services, and a discussion on nationalised or privately run train services.
The IEA are a really good and interesting think tank which challenges governments both here in the UK and abroad: http://www.iea.org.uk/ and worth checking out.

Prison Reform Update

The book "Doing Time" is not 50 shades of grey but it is selling well!
It is still available at all good bookshops and on Amazon / Kindle.
These last few months the campaign for prison reform has not stopped and I wanted to update regular readers of what we are doing. The Justice Secretary, the Prisons Minister and the PM have all got a copy of the book, and we have continued to take the message of change through rehabilitation far and wide:
- In december we held a debate in parliament on literacy in prisons: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2012-12-12a.128.0&s=PRISONS+speaker%3A24962#g128.1
- I have held a series of book launches, seminars and discussion events in Hexham, and in several events in London, with think tanks like Policy Exchange and more recently with the new Think Tank, Bright Blue: http://brightblueonline.com/index.php/events/past-events
Their event last week in the Two Chairman Pub in Victoria, London was a lively old fashioned pub based Q+ A that went on for nearly 2 hours as we discussed issues of crime, punishment, rehabilitation, victim expectation, deductions for literacy and so much more over a couple of pints - a genuine pub and sawdust event with no holds barred - I loved it! They are a very interesting bunch of innovative young thinkers and political free spirits, and worth getting to know / going along to their events.
I have also done a legal book launch with Hammicks in law land on Chancery Lane / the Temple and am speaking at a number of future events in the north and across the country over the next months, and may even be taking the ideas behind the book to our Europeans neighbours at a policy seminar in the summer - details all to be confirmed but my thanks to the Institute of Economic Affairs for the invite:http://www.iea.org.uk/home

Finally, I have also met with 3 fascinating people who have helped shape my views on prison reform: two former prisoners Jonathan Robinson and Jonathan Aitken have both served their time and are now providing their insight on changes to the prisons they occupied for the wrong reasons. The former MP Jonathan Aitken is a genuinely contrite and deeply insightful man who is doing all he can to make our prisons better. I have got to know him and hope to tap his massive knowledge of the subject some more. Likewise Jonathan Robinson, formerly of HMP Bedford and now author of his book "In It", a warts and all study of his time inside and his proposals for change.
My last special meeting was with Sean Prendergast, who runs the most important Jamaican prison, the Tower Street Correctional Facility. He explained to me the difficulties that he faced with over 1800 inmates in a Victorian prison designed for 800, with 3 to a small cell and no toilet, and minimal ability to provide rehabilitation facilities. We spoke at length. I am grateful to all 3 experts for their insight, wisdom and advice.
One of the great things about being an MP is the ability to try and take an issue and attempt to influence the way a country and other places address their problems. I do not presume to have the answer to all of prisons problems but I do want to try and make a difference on this issue in the years that lie ahead. Finally, if you have not read my book I urge you to do so! All proceeds go to charity.

Prison Reform

Anyone who knows me knows that prison reform is one of the main reasons I want to get involved in the House of Commons. There is a recent Commons Justice Select Committee report which has
- underlined the unsustainable rise of prison numbers
- the terrible failure to address reoffending

Britain locks up more people than any other European democracy ....
We have to address the constant failure to address the need for rehabilitation
Prison does not solve all the problems for criminals - if you accept that they will come out at some stage then you need to address rehabilitation - currently we barely do this: if we do this
- we cut crime
- we save money in the prison, law and order and justice systems
and address the fundamentals of a moral responsibility.