Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Clarke of Nottingham and Rosie Cooper

Tuesday 19th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Does the Secretary of State think that there should be a public acceptability test relating to the time that prisoners spend in purposeful activity?

[Mr Kenneth Clarke]

I think that it would be very publicly acceptable if there were a more work-based regime in more of our prisons. I am not sure what specific tests would need to be devised, but we would need to ensure that, whenever possible, the hours spent in productive employment by prisoners reintroduced to the work habit were similar to those to which they would have to adapt if they obtained a job when they left prison, and that they would be able to produce goods, for instance, generating earnings that would help them to make a contribution to compensation for victims. However, I am not sure that each of those programmes would need to be subjected to a public acceptability test.