One of the central recommendations of the report of David Gauke’s Independent Sentencing Review is the introduction of ‘earned progression’, whereby people in prison can earn early release by engaging with the prison regime. 

The benefits of earned progression 

This mechanism will enable people to be released from prison after they have served a third of their sentence, or half for those who have committed more serious offences. To earn this, they will need to comply with prison rules and to “engage in purposeful activity and attend any required work, education, treatments and/or training obligations where these are available”. The Government has accepted the broad parameters of the recommendation, but the details of how the model will work will be set out in legislation expected in September. 

If implemented properly, this approach could have real benefits, given the robust evidence that participating in education reduces reoffending. 

It could benefit people in prison by reducing the length of their sentence and ensuring that they have the skills and qualifications they need to access employment on release. It could also benefit the taxpayer by reducing the cost of keeping people in prison and the costs of reoffending. And it could benefit the broader community by reducing crime and introducing more skilled people into the workforce. 

Limited prison regimes 

The key challenge, though, in implementing this approach is the current limitations in prison regimes. Overcrowding, staff shortages and underinvestment mean that there is a lack of purposeful activity available across the prison estate, an issue continually highlighted by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. There is no point in incentivising people to participate in education or other purposeful activity if they are then not able to do so. 

Moreover what is available is frequently not sufficiently flexible or tailored to meet the needs of individuals. This is a key issue for earned progression; if it is going to be fair then activities that ‘count’ towards early release must be equally available to all, not just to those who are already most able to engage with education and training. 

As a result of these issues it seems likely that people will not have an opportunity in the immediate future to genuinely ‘earn’ their release by accessing education or training. Instead, early release will be based solely or mostly on behaviour and complying with prison rules, an approach that has significant risks that will need to be addressed. 

But in the longer term, and if this approach is going to be really meaningful, the Ministry of Justice will need to invest in regimes, making sure that there is the capacity for people to participate in education and other purposeful activity that meets their needs and helps them to achieve their goals. Then earned release can genuinely be about positive engagement, not just about staying out of trouble. 

The role of the voluntary sector 

As part of this, there is an important role for the voluntary sector. If prisons need to expand and diversify the educational opportunities on offer in order to make sure there is something for everyone, the breadth of what charities can and do provide will be key.  

Whether it’s the distance learning courses that we offer at Prisoners’ Education Trust, Shannon Trust programmes that teach people to read or the thousands of other opportunities that charities provide, it’ll be impossible to deliver earned progression without the voluntary sector. 

The planned introduction of earned progression is an opportunity for the prison system. As well as incentivising people to participate in purposeful activity, it could also ensure that prisons make education and training available and enable people to access them. 

If earned progression is properly implemented then this - the creation of full and varied regimes that meet individuals’ needs - could be the real benefit of its introduction.