4 hours ago
5
Paul Seddon
Political reporter
PA Media
The new legislation will not apply to the most serious criminals, the justice secretary said
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced limits on how long some offenders can be returned to prison, in a bid to stop jails running out of places.
Under the shake-up, offenders recalled to prison, for breaching their licences will be released after a fixed 28-day period in England and Wales.
The change is intended to bypass lengthy waits for a parole board assessment before they can be released again.
Mahmood said the move would free up around 1,400 prison places and buy ministers time to overhaul a system "on the brink of collapse".
She warned that despite plans to start work on three prisons this year, it would not be possible to "build our way out of this crisis" and the government otherwise faced running out of spaces for male offenders by November.
She said the latest prison-building initiative would be funded by a capital investment of £4.7bn.
Changes from an upcoming review of sentencing, led by former Conservative minister David Gauke, were only likely to be felt from spring next year, she added.
The prison population is 88,087 from a useable operational capacity 89,442, according to the latest official weekly figures.
It is estimated to increase to between 95,700 and 105,200 by March 2029, according to a government analysis released last year.
The changes announced on Wednesday would apply to offenders with sentences between one and four years, who have been released after serving their minimum period but recalled for breaching their terms of their licence.
Mahmood said the change would not apply to those who commit a serious further offence – or are deemed to pose a high risk.
