More should be done to prevent prisoners from committing further crimes when they leave jail, according to an influential group of MPs.

The Prison Service could embark on a whole range of activities to prevent inmates from reoffending on their release from jails across England and Wales, the Commons public accounts committee said.

More emphasis should be put on providing basic literacy and numeracy for short-term offenders

Public Accounts Committee

Nearly six out of 10 prisoners commit a further crime within two years of release.

The MPs argued it was "totally unsatisfactory" that some jails were spending as little as £205 per person a year on education.

They called for a greater emphasis on improving literacy and numeracy to help prisoners into work.

Volunteers needed

The Prison Service should aim to keep inmates in jails close to home so family links can be maintained.

Fewer prisoners should be moved between institutions if they are in the middle of rehabilitation or education and programmes needed to be developed for inmates serving short sentences, the MPs said.

The approach to reducing reoffending is failing, says Mr Leigh

"Many of the Prison Service's current programmes are designed for longer term prisoners and yet prisoners most likely to reoffend are predominantly young and serving short sentences," the report stressed.

"More emphasis should be put on providing basic literacy and numeracy for short-term offenders."

Volunteers were needed to provide more education in prisons, the MPs said.

And targets should be set with the NHS to reduce the amount of time mentally ill offenders spend waiting for in-patient treatment.

Victims

The MPs called for an investigation into why some prisons were more successful than others in finding jobs for inmates on release.

For instance, less than one in three prisoners across England and Wales start jobs or training on release, while at Thorn Cross prison in Cheshire, the figure is 44%.

"The Prison Service should give greater emphasis to helping prisoners find accommodation on their release," the report said.

Edward Leigh, the committee's Tory chairman, added: "This is an issue of importance to the whole community, but the current approach to reducing reoffending is failing both the victims and the perpetrators of crime."