“Prison is about punishing people who have committed heinous crimes, but it should be a place where offenders are given the opportunity to turn their lives around,” said the justice secretary, Liz Truss, introducing the Prisons and Courts bill last Thursday.

“I want our prisons to be places of discipline, hard work, and self-improvement, where staff are empowered to get people off drugs, improve their English and maths to get a job on release,” she said.

Under a new framework, the justice secretary will be accountable to parliament for progress in reforming offenders. Meanwhile, governors will take control of budgets for education, employment, and health. The government hopes the measures will drive down the £15bn annual cost of reoffending. This legislation underpins measures in the recently published Prison Safety and Reform White Paper. Read the full story