Michael Gove's prison reforms could be dead in the water after Justice Secretary refuses to commit to legislation

The sweeping reforms to prisons planned by Michael Gove may never come to pass, after new Justice Secretary Liz Truss refused to commit to new legislation in her first appearance before the Justice Select Committee.

Ms Truss was hesitant when asked about the Prison Reform Bill that was promised by Mr Gove late last year, and formed part of this year’s Queen's speech.

She said her department has no plan to deliver the changes Mr Gove set out in a lengthy speech on the issue, suggesting that no detailed work had been done by the department on how Mr Gove’s big ideas on rehabilitation of prisoners could be put into practise.

"My predecessor was specifically focused on reform prisons which I think are an excellent idea, “ she said.

“I'm looking at the overall system in which they operate as well. What I'm not committing to is any specific pieces of legislation at this stage but I will be outlining my plans in due course."

Mr Gove had hoped to introduce to prisons many of the reforms he had introduced to schools during his time as Education Secretary, including plans for a Teach First style scheme, in which top graduates would work in prisons, educating offenders, equipping them to lead functional lives upon release, drastically reducing the risk of reoffending.

He also wanted to grant prison governors far more control over how their prisons were run, a move that closely resembles the powers handed to the heads of academy schools, but Mr Gove had warned that legislation would be required to do it.

Ms Truss said she “Wanted to look at the evidence of what works in the system and what isn't working.

"The issue in the past, sometimes things have been done in a piecemeal way. What we have to look at is all the different pieces of the jigsaw, I am reluctant to commit in one area and not another.

"I don't want to say something which we find a few weeks later won't work."

Jo Stevens, Labour’s Shadow Justice Minister, responding Liz Truss’s appearance before the Justice Select Committee, said: “Tory prison policy is in tatters following the Justice Secretary’s absolutely shambolic appearance at the Justice Committee this morning.

“Having overseen a prison crisis with record levels of violence, deaths, drug finds and overcrowding, she repeatedly failed to provide a single detail of what she will do about it.

“Urgent action is long overdue and the Prison Reform Bill was the central piece of this year’s lightweight Queen’s Speech, but today she refused to confirm its fate.

“By failing to tackle the prisons crisis which developed on their watch, the Tories have yet again demonstrated that they have no plan for the challenges this country faces.”

Responding to whether Ms Truss had deliberately shelved Mr Gove’s reform agenda, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Government remains totally committed to legislating on prison reform and will come forward with plans in due course.

“We also remain committed to legislating on reform of our court system to provide a better and more efficient service. Again, we will come forward with plans in due course.”