Over to you, Rachel

Last October I wrote of the parlous state of our prisons (Prison doesn't work), since when things have reached, if not passed, breaking point.

The new Labour government is scrambling to implement a policy its predecessor Tory government had already agreed prior to the general election - namely the immediate early-release of around ten thousand non-dangerous prisoners to relieve prison overcrowding. Acknowledging that this was not without risk, the new Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP,  painted an apocalyptic picture of the likely societal upheaval if this urgent action wasn't taken.

However, this can only be a stopgap measure, offering temporary respite. Once the intolerable pressure on the prison estate is slightly relieved the serious work of reforming the whole system must get underway. The problem is, where to start? Well, somewhere would be good. Unfortunately, it's just another of those 'everything, everywhere, all at once' problems facing this new government, which ultimately comes down to money. Many a sensible proposal over the years for solving, or at least alleviating, the problem has foundered on the rocks of Treasury intransigence.

Despite the holistic nature of the problem, the probable reason for the Justice rather than, say, the Home Secretary being called upon to address the issues publicly is that a lot of the problem of overcrowding hinges on draconian sentencing policy. Send fewer people to prison, the thinking goes, and the prison population will fall. QED.

But, in reality, this is a whole-Cabinet issue; education, health, housing, regional and local government, policing, the armed forces et al have a vital role not just in solving the immediate problem but in stemming it at source. Prevention is always better than cure but when even our health system fails to grasp that basic tenet how how can we expect the criminal justice system, for example, to comprehend it?

In this regard, it was surprising to hear the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, expressing his shock at discovering the scale of the problem in our prisons. For many years, as he never misses an opportunity to remind us, he was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 2008-13. If he of all people didn't know, surely he should have when his decisions to prosecute led directly to the numbers being sent to prison? Admittedly, his wasn't a government role and he wasn't even an MP at the time but it seems to show a remarkably blinkered, siloed approach to the job.

However that may be, he now has his hands on the levers of power and is in a position to affect immediate change while planning longterm legislative remedies. Inevitably, as so often in the past, there will be tensions between numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street, in other words between the PM and his Chancellor. In this particular instance Rachel Reeves must surely acknowledge that to resist investment in this process would be penny wise and pound foolish. The can has been kicked down the road long enough and has finally ended up on her doorstep. Investment now will avoid even more spending later and stands every chance of averting the sort of social unrest we witnessed in 2011, to which the Justice Secretary was presumably alluding in her apocalyptic speech.

For all Tony Blair's faults (and he himself admits he should have gone further faster) he set up the highly-successful Sure Start scheme, invested in school rebuilding, public housing refurbishment and community policing. Keir Starmer will need to reboot all this - and some. His Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, will need to sort out the NHS so that it can better cope with the growing mental health crisis. Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, will need to enable schools to ensure fewer pupils leave the education system illiterate and innumerate - thus rendering them effectively unemployable. She will also need to provide work and life skills training for prisoners, both while in prison and on release. 

Defence Secretary, John Healey, will need to ensure better aftercare and mentoring for veterans so that they do not end up homeless, drug-addicted, mentally ill and suicidal. Angela Rayner, Secretary of the newly-named Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government needs to increase provision for specialist housing for those leaving prison. Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, must make the benefits system fairer and more supportive.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, must re-examine drugs legislation and police enforcement practices. The aforementioned Shabana Mahmood (along with Lord Hermer, Attorney General and his deputy, Sarah Sackman, Solicitor General) urgently needs to review sentencing policy if she is determined to solve prison overcrowding. Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy needs to administer CPR to the British economy, not just to raise funds for such investment but to improve the living standards of millions of Britons. And, finally, the sine qua non...

Rachel Reeves must will the money needed to make all this possible.

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