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
