24th March 2010
Westminster Legal Policy Forum Keynote Seminar
21st century prisons
with
Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP
Chairman
Justice Select Committee
and
David Burrowes MP
Shadow Minister for Justice
and
Rt Hon Henry McLeish
Chairman
Scottish Prisons Commission
and
Phil Wheatley
Director General
National Offender Management Service
Morning, 24th March 2010
Central London
Live Agenda | Our Website| Book Online
I am writing to invite you to attend the above seminar. Please note there is a charge for most delegates, although no one is excluded on the basis of ability to pay (see below).
Seminar
As the Government begins consulting on where to build five new prisons to cater for 7,500 further prisoners and private contractors bid to design, build and manage the institutions, this timely seminar will look at key elements of the Government’s prison policy.
Sessions will examine the key reasons for the increase in the size of England’s prison population in recent years, what type of prison best contributes to increased public safety and the next steps for offender rehabilitation - including whether more responsibility should be devolved to local authorities and the third sector. The seminar will also examine the management of England’s prisons and the key differences between contracted out and public sector prisons in terms of management and prison staff.
With keynote contributions from the National Offender Management Service, the Chairman of the Justice Select Committee; and the Scottish Prisons Commission this meeting will bring together policy makers from Government and Parliament together with representatives from citizen’s groups, local authorities, prison staff and other interested parties.
Planned sessions will look at:
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Capacity concerns: the key reasons for the increase in size of the prison population in recent years and how should concerns about prisons in England and Wales reaching capacity be addressed?
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Offender rehabilitation: is there a link between prison size and offender rehabilitation? Is enough being done inside prisons to prepare offenders for life after prison? How can stronger links be developed between prisoners and the communities they will return to on their release from prison?
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The relationship with the private sector: the key differences between contracted out and public sector prisons. Is best practice shared between the two sectors? And
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The future of prison staff: The current state of morale amongst prison management and officers and the impact of clustering.
A copy of the draft agenda is below my signature. You can follow the updated, live agenda here, at our website. The seminar is organised on the basis of strict impartiality by the Westminster Legal Policy Forum.
Speakers
We are delighted to be able to include in this seminar keynote addresses from:
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Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP, Chair, Justice Select Committee;
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Rt Hon Henry McLeish, Chairman, Scottish Prisons Commission; and
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Phil Wheatley, Director General, National Offender Management Service.
Other confirmed speakers include:
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Professor Andrew Coyle CMG, International Centre for Prison Studies, School of Law, King’s College, London;
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Frances Crook, Director, The Howard League for Penal Reform;
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Vicky O’Dea, Operations Director, Serco; and
-
Stephen Nathan, Journalist and Researcher.
David Burrowes MP, Shadow Minister for Justice has kindly agreed to chair part of this seminar.
Further senior participants are being invited and we are waiting for confirmation of diaries.
Delegates
We expect attendees and speakers to be a senior and informed group numbering around 100, including Members of both Houses of Parliament, senior government officials involved in this area of policy, senior representatives from the legal profession, police, local community groups, local government, as well as academics, charities and campaign groups, and representatives of the trade and national press.
Output and About Us
A key output of the seminar will be a transcript of the proceedings, sent out within a week of the event to all attendees and a wider group of Ministers and officials at the Ministry of Justice and other government departments affected by the issues; and Parliamentarians with a special interest in these areas. It will also be made available more widely. It will include transcripts of all speeches and questions and answers sessions from the day, along with access to PowerPoint presentations, speakers’ biographies, an attendee list, an agenda and sponsor information. It is made available subject to strict restrictions on public use, similar to those for Select Committee Uncorrected Evidence, and is intended to provide timely information for interested parties who are unable to attend on the day.
All delegates will receive free PDF copies and are invited to contribute to the content.
The Westminster Legal Policy Forum is a recently established division of Westminster Forum Projects. The Forum is strictly impartial and cross-party, and draws on the considerable support it receives from within Parliament and Government, and amongst the wider stakeholder community. The Forum has no policy agenda of its own. Forum events are frequently the platform for major policy statements from senior Ministers, regulators and other officials, opposition spokespersons and senior opinion formers in industry and interest groups. Events regularly receive prominent coverage in the national and trade press.
Booking arrangements
To book places, please use ouronline booking form.
Once submitted, this will be taken as a confirmed booking and will be subject to our terms and conditions below.
Please pay in advance by credit card on 01276 489144. If advance credit card payment is not possible, please let me know and we may be able make other arrangements.
Options and charges are as follows:
- Places at 21st century prisons (including refreshments and PDF copy of the transcripts) are £190 plus VAT (£218.50);
- Concessionary rate places for small charities, unfunded individuals and those in similar circumstances are £80 plus VAT (£92). Please be sure to apply for this at the time of booking.
For those who cannot attend:
- Copies of the briefing document, including full transcripts of all speeches and the questions and comments sessions and further articles from interested parties, will be available approximately 7 days after the event for £95 plus VAT (£109.25);
- Concessionary rate: £50 plus VAT (£57.50).
To order please follow the link here.
If you find the charge for tickets a barrier to attending, please let me know and we will do our best to see you are not excluded. Please note terms and conditions below (including cancellation charges).
