'Bed and breakfast' short jail terms cost £50,000 a year per inmate and should be scrapped, Justice Secretary says

Transcript

00:00 Hi Nick, thanks for joining us. So this plan is designed to save money. How does

00:05 Justice Secretary Alex Chalk plan to do that?

00:07 Hello Iona. Well, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has put forward quite a bold

00:12 proposal here aimed at saving taxpayer money by suggesting the elimination of

00:18 shorter prison sentences for low-level offenders. In his views, these short

00:23 stints behind bars, often referred to as bed-and-breakfast stays, cost the

00:28 taxpayer nearly £50,000 per prisoner per year. He emphasises the need to

00:33 strike a balance between punishment and rehabilitation, suggesting that while

00:38 serious offenders should face longer sentences, lower-risk individuals could

00:43 be better served by community-based punishments. So how does the proposed

00:50 sentencing bill aim to address overcrowding in prisons? Interesting one

00:54 this Iona. The proposed sentencing bill aims to tackle the persistent issue of

01:00 overcrowding prisons by implementing alternative measures for offenders

01:04 sentenced to less than 12 months. Instead of sending these individuals to jail, the

01:09 bill suggests offering suspended sentences and community punishments. They

01:14 say by diverting low-level offenders away from incarceration, the hope is to

01:19 alleviate pressure on the prison system and free up much-needed space. However,

01:24 the bill has faced opposition with concerns raised about its potential

01:29 effectiveness and impact on public safety. Nick, this plan however has led

01:35 some concerns being raised by some Tory MPs regarding the proposed sentencing

01:39 bill, hasn't it? Well indeed Iona, those concerns have been quite loud. Several

01:44 Tory MPs, including former Home Secretary Suella Braveman, have voiced concerns

01:49 about the proposed sentencing bill. They argue that without amendments the bill

01:53 could inadvertently lead to an increase in crime and they say jeopardise public