Study hard and get out of jail early, Gove will tell prisoners

PLANS to allow criminals out of jail early if they agree to sign up for education classes behind bars will be outlined by Michael Gove today.

The Justice Secretary will say he is “attracted” to the idea of a scheme which will allow prisoners to show they have changed their ways and want to learn and get a job.

It is thought the criminals could be rewarded with early release – or temporary release at weekends – in exchange for making educational achievements such as passing exams.

Violent criminals and others who pose a risk to the public are likely to be exempt from the rewards.

Mr Gove will say prison governors should be given new freedom to innovate in-jail education. Governors who achieve the best improvements may be personally rewarded, he will suggest.

Mr Gove is expected to say: “I am attracted to the idea of earned release for those offenders who make a commitment to serious educational activity, who show by their changed attitude that they wish to contribute to society and who work hard to acquire proper qualifications which are externally validated and respected by employers.”

Current jail education is “indefensible”, he will say in a speech to the Prisoner Learning Alliance in south London. He has asked civil servants to draw up a feasibility study ahead of developing formal proposals.

More than 3,000 telephone calls between MPs and prisoners were recorded by prison officers, breaking established rules, an inquiry has found.

Nick Hardwick, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, said about 3,150 calls between prisoners and MPs or their offices were recorded. Of those, 280 were downloaded to a playback system and probably listened to on 358 occasions.

The recordings involved 37 MPs, including Jack Straw when he was a Labour justice secretary and therefore in charge of the prison system.