The government should develop a dedicated 10-year strategy for long-term prisoners, to meet the needs of the growing number of prisoners serving long and indeterminate sentences, a new Prison Reform Trust report says.
The number of people serving 10 or more years, extended and indeterminate sentences has risen by almost a third (32%) over the past decade, from 22,195 in 2015 to 29,408 in 2026.
The report, It’s About Time, is the culmination of PRT’s six-year Building Futures programme. Over that period, the programme engaged more than 1,000 people serving long sentences from over 70 prisons across the UK, alongside people released after serving long sentences, family members, prison staff, policymakers and academics. The programme is one of the most comprehensive examinations of long-term imprisonment produced in recent years.
Drawing on this extensive evidence, the report argues that the growing cohort of long-sentenced prisoners has been overlooked in recent prison reform efforts.
Long-sentenced prisoners have different needs and face distinct challenges that can last for years or decades. Participants in the Building Futures programme have highlighted how long-term imprisonment can erode hope, identity, wellbeing and family relationships. Participants described periods of “dead time”, barriers to progression, worsening physical and mental health, and significant challenges in maintaining family ties and preparing for eventual release. Family members also reported the emotional, financial and practical burdens associated with supporting a loved one through a lengthy prison sentence. The report comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on prisons. The prison population in England and Wales is projected to rise to between 98,000 and 103,600 by 2030, while the number of people serving the longest sentences continues to grow. Participants consistently described feeling forgotten within debates about prison reform, despite experiencing the impact of overcrowding, restricted regimes, poor progression opportunities and uncertainty for many years.
The report welcomes provision in the Sentencing Act 2026 to reduce pressure on prisons. However, the report argues that they do not adequately address the needs of people serving long and indeterminate sentences. It calls of the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS to develop and publish a dedicated 10-year national strategy for long-term prisoners.
The proposed strategy is built around three priorities:
- Safety – creating the conditions for hope, fulfilment and progression.
- Decency – improving health, wellbeing and human dignity.
- Resettlement and release – strengthening relationships, release preparation and reintegration into the community.
Among its recommendations, the report also calls for a new national measure of hope and fulfilment across prisons, reforms to progression systems, greater support for family relationships, improved healthcare and social care for ageing prisoners, and better preparation for release from the earliest stages of a sentence.
Commenting, Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said:
“For too long, people serving long and indeterminate sentences have been largely absent from debates about prison reform. Yet they are one of the fastest-growing groups in our prisons and many will spend decades living with the consequences of policy decisions made today.
“This report is a powerful reminder that behind every long sentence is a human being, a family and a future. The voices gathered through Building Futures make an overwhelming case for change.
“If we want prisons that are safer, more humane and more effective, we must stop treating long-term prisoners as an afterthought. We need a national strategy that gives people hope, supports progression and helps build better futures for everyone affected by long-term imprisonment.”
