PRT regenerated, and now provides the secretariat to, the All-Party Parliamentary Penal Affairs Group. This active group, chaired by Lord Corbett of Castlevale and coordinated by PRT deputy director, Geoff Dobson, aims to increase its members’ knowledge of penal affairs and to work through parliamentary channels for reform of the penal system.
Several of its meetings have led directly to parliamentary debates and questions on a broad range of issues including: effects of long term imprisonment and resettlement, youth justice, re-organisation of the criminal justice inspectorates, self harm and suicide in prison and the needs of prisoners’ families.
The Prison Reform Trust has been referred to directly in over a dozen different parliamentary debates in 2005. In particular the Bromley Briefing Prison Factfile is greatly used by parliamentarians when holding the prison system to account. We know from feedback and Hansard monitoring when a briefing has been helpful. During this time, PRT has also made substantive submissions to six major government consultations on future policy. By monitoring and reporting on the development of prison privatization, PRT continues to perform an almost unique role in bringing to light information for public and parliamentary debate.