Formed in 1980 the All-Party Parliamentary Penal Affairs Group aims to increase its members' knowledge of penal affairs and to work through parliamentary channels for reform of the penal system.

With the prison population at an all time high of around 85,000 and plans for further considerable expansion of the estate despite radical cuts elsewhere in public expenditure, there has never been a greater need for an active and informed group.

In 1980 at the time of the group’s first publication,  Too Many Prisoners, the prison population in England and Wales stood at 44,000, a level that the then home secretary, Willie Whitelaw, described as “dangerously high”.

In a speech to the Conservative Central Council he said:

...we must ensure that prison is reserved for those whom we really need to contain in custody and that sentences are no longer than necessary to achieve this objective...

These are sentiments that remain relevant today. With an imprisonment rate of 154 per 100,000 England and Wales has become the top incarcerator in Western Europe. Rates in more moderate France and Germany are 96 and 88 per 100,000. Fevered prison building, at £170,000 per place, is now set to propel us past most of our Eastern European neighbours. It is hoped that this review will prove helpful in allowing parliamentarians an opportunity to pause and reflect on both the pace and nature of change.

The group was re-instated on the Register of All-Party Groups and the Approved List in July 2002. Since then the group’s chairman has been Lord Corbett of Castlevale. Baroness Stern of Vauxhall CBE, and Lord Ramsbotham are the vice-chairs of the group and Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts is the group's secretary.

Prior to the general election 143 Members of Parliament and 92 Peers were members of the group.

Prison Reform Trust deputy director, Geoff Dobson OBE, is clerk to the group.

The Barrow Cadbury Trust kindly supports the Prison Reform Trust to provide the Secretariat to the group.

The group meets regularly and hears presentations from a wide range of people and organisations.

Transcripts of presentations from 2008-2010 form the basis of the group's report Too Many Prisoners.