Holme House and Kirklevington part of 'reform prison' pilot scheme

Holme House Prison on Teesside and Kirklevington Prison in North Yorkshire will be part of “the biggest shake-up of prisons since Victorian times” under plans announced in today’s Queen’s Speech.

They are among six prisons across the country to become so called 'Reform Prisons'

The other four prisons are HMP Coldingley, HMP High Down, HMP Ranby and HMP Wandsworth.

Prison governors will be given more financial and legal freedoms, such as how the prison budget is spent and whether to opt-out of national contracts; and operational freedoms over education, the prison regime, family visits, and partnerships to provide prison work and rehabilitation services.

A new regime will hold governors to account, with comparable statistics to be published for each prison on reoffending, employment rates on release, and violence and self-harm.

The reforms of the prison system will further the Government's commitment to public protection through cutting crime by reducing reoffending.

Prime Minister David Cameron said:

These new freedoms sit alongside the Government's commitment to replace decrepit, ageing prisons with modern establishments suitable for the needs of prisoners today - to be built with £1.3bn of investment announced at the Spending Review.