Independent review of the prison system: terms of reference
The independent review will provide a strategic, risk-based assessment of the current, emerging and future risks and opportunities facing the prison system.
Applies to England and Wales
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The government has announced the launch of the independent review of the prison system, a major review to assess the long-term challenges facing prisons and make recommendations to improve their resilience, performance and effectiveness.
The independent review will be led by the Right Honourable Amber Rudd, supported by a panel of experts.
The prison system faces ongoing and future challenges that are not widely understood, shaped by pressures across capacity, safety and decency, security and rehabilitation, as well as the age, condition and configuration of the prison estate.
While recent investment and action have mitigated some pressures, the underlying risks remain structural and long-term in nature.
The independent review will provide a strategic, risk-based assessment of the current, emerging and future risks and opportunities facing the prison system.
It will consider a broad range of challenges, including:
- Security risks, including drugs, drones, escapes and corruption, as well as emerging threats such as cyber risks
- Safety and decency, including violence, self-harm, crowding and the condition of the physical estate
- Capacity pressures, including maintaining sufficient prison places and managing crowding
- Workforce challenges, including capability, non-effective staffing levels, sickness absence and attrition
The review will also consider how wider factors, including socio-economic and environmental change, technological progress, sentencing trends and an increasingly complex prison population, are compounding these pressures.
Alongside this assessment, the review will identify practical and deliverable options for reform to improve the resilience, performance and effectiveness of prisons, and will build a robust evidence base to support long-term decision-making and future investment. It will also seek to identify efficiencies to increase the sustainability of the prison system.
The review will take account of the wider system in which prisons operate, including the role of private operators, government departments and partner organisations, and will build on existing evidence and independent reviews. It will also consider learnings from international examples of good practice.
The review is expected to report to the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor by December 2026, with its findings informing future decisions on the prison system, including long-term investment and reform.
Out of Scope
- The review will make recommendations relating only to prisons.
- The review will not develop detailed prison estate delivery plans or site-specific proposals.
- The youth justice system.
Independent Chair – Amber Rudd
The Rt Hon Amber Rudd has previously held Cabinet roles as the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Minister for Women and Equalities, and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. She served as MP for Hastings and Rye from 2010 to 2019.