Prison work and training “deeply concerning”

Repeat offenders are continuing to “cause mayhem” in their communities thanks to the failure of prisons to provide education, training and work that could support rehabilitation and help to break the cycle of offending, warns the Chief Inspector of Prisons in a thematic review published yesterday (13 October 2025).

‘Just passing time’: A review of work and training provision in adult prisons reveals a deeply concerning picture of far too few activity spaces for the prison population, poor attendance in classes and work, and a failure to make sure prisoners develop the skills that will help them to stop reoffending. The Chief Inspector warns that this “already unacceptable situation” is only likely to get worse as real-terms cuts begin to eat into already stretched education provision.

Failing

The review points out that the lack of adequate purposeful activity has been a failing in prisons for many years, and since the pandemic outcomes have deteriorated further: in the last three years HMI Prisons has rated provision in 94 of 104 closed prisons as ‘poor’ or ‘not sufficiently good’.

This thematic review, which took place alongside inspections of 11 men’s and two women’s prisons, reveals that, despite pockets of effective provision delivered by dedicated, creative staff, too many prisoners spend their days locked in their cells, and overcrowding, a lack of workshop space and instructors, equipment failures and ageing infrastructure have compounded the situation.

Multiple problems

Many prisoners wait weeks to be allocated an activity space and are often given what is available, rather than training that is relevant to their career prospects on release, motivating them to attend and giving them the skills and qualifications they need to gain employment. For those who do gain a space, there is no guarantee they will be able to attend: regime curtailments, security lockdowns and staff indifference about unlocking prisoners meant average attendance was just 67% in the prisons visited for this review. Even when work goes ahead, full-time jobs generally occupy prisoners for just five hours a day, with many roles split into part-time places to stretch meagre provision further, which fails to prepare them for holding down a job in the community.

The review cites no fewer than 10 specific concerns:

1. Many prisons lacked sufficient activity spaces to occupy their populations. Most prisoners could only work part-time or in wing-based roles, and across the sites we visited around a fifth were unemployed.
2. Prisons did not always do enough to encourage or enable attendance at work. Working hours were impacted by prisoners not being unlocked on time, and wing staff did not always encourage prisoners to take part.
3. High-quality training and employment support for prisoners approaching release was only available for small numbers. Funding was too limited as a result of national pressures, and uncertainty around Dynamic Purchasing System budgets had impacted on provision at some sites.
4. Induction processes were inconsistent, and prisoners lacked awareness of the opportunities available. Prisoners were often unaware of vocational training or work opportunities, and did not understand how the work that they were doing would benefit them.
5. Working days were too short to replicate conditions in the community. Prisoners in full-time roles often only worked around five hours or less a day, and education and training contracts did not include provision on Friday afternoons.
6. Few workshops offered meaningful qualifications and progression opportunities for prisoners. ‘Progress in work’ booklets were used inconsistently, and staff and prisoners did not see their value.
7. The system to allocate prisoners to suitable training or education courses was not effective. Many did not take account of information gathered in prisoner inductions. Data was not used effectively to monitor potential disproportionalities among those accessing opportunities.
8. Not enough was being done to find viable routes into employment for prisoners convicted of sexual offences. Prison leaders acknowledged that there was not enough provision for these men.
9. Employer engagement in prisons was limited. Employers described prisons as challenging environments in which to operate effectively.
10. Release on temporary licence for prisoners was underused. Few sites inspectors visited were using ROTL to provide prisoners with the opportunity to work in the community.

Conclusion

It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that the prison service’s own measures indicate that at least two-thirds of prisoners are not in work or training six months after release. Looming cuts to education delivery in prisons are likely to make matters even worse. The Inspectorate has been told that most jails are facing at least a 20% reduction in their budget and some governors are expecting up to 50%, meaning many teachers and instructors are being made redundant.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor summed up this dismal situation:

“We found some examples of effective work and training provision, but the reality was that only a handful of prisoners were benefitting. Far too many spent their days locked in their cells, often in squalid, overcrowded conditions with nothing to do but take drugs and watch daytime TV.

I have serious concerns about the impact of real-terms education budget cuts on already inadequate provision and about the lack of real appetite and ambition for improvement that this represents. The prison service has a duty to protect the public by making prisoners less likely to reoffend when they are released, but too often it is failing to fulfil this responsibility. There is little doubt that many prisoners already leave jail and return to criminality, creating more victims of crime. These devastating cuts are likely to make this situation worse.”

Thanks to Andy Aitchison for kind permission to use the header image in this post. You can see Andy’s work here