Lord Timpson questioned amid extreme pressures across prisons and probation

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• Justice Committee

Purpose of the session

It marks the first in a series of planned high-profile hearings with key figures, including the Lady Chief Justice, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Lord Chancellor to examine issues across the whole justice system. 

During the session on 19 November, MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Andy Slaughter, will question the Minister on his priorities, the workings of the Government’s early release scheme (SDS40), the Probation Service and public safety, plus the prison building programme and overcrowding, including recent urgent notifications.

MPs are also expected to raise organised crime and drugs in prisons, the remand population, IPP sentences (Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection), and the female estate. The Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service and the Director General Policy Group at the Ministry of Justice will complete the witness panel.

The Committee has this week undertaken visits to HMP Brixton and Snaresbrook Crown Court to witness firsthand the problems affecting the prisons and courts systems and speak to those who are grappling with these issues on a daily basis.

Witnesses

At 2.30pm, 19 November:

• Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending
• Amy Rees, Chief Executive, HM Prison and Probation Service
• Ross Gribbin, Director General Policy Group, Ministry of Justice

Chair's comment

Justice Committee Chair Andy Slaughter MP said: “Prisons are in a dire state, running at almost maximum capacity, with inmates housed in crowded, crumbling, unsafe jails plagued by severe maintenance backlogs, drugs, organised crime and without sufficient purposeful activity.

“With the prison population expected to rise to 94,000 by next March and increase still further, it is imperative that Ministers in the new Government grip a situation that has been recklessly left to fester for far too long without sustainable solutions or adequate investment.

“The Committee will question the Minister across his brief, from the rollout of the early release scheme to safety, staffing and the cycle of reoffending. There is a long way to go to repair our broken justice system and the Committee will work forensically in the coming months to examine the acute state of prisons, probation, the courts backlog and access to justice to identify key flaws and stress test proposed solutions.”

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

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