Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending

{{Short description|UK government position in the Ministry of Justice}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use British English|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox official post | post = Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending | style = | formation = | first = | termlength = [[At His Majesty's pleasure]] | appointer_qualified = on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] | appointer = The [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Monarch]] | image = Official portrait of Lord Timpson.jpg | nominator = | residence = | body = | incumbent = [[James Timpson, Baron Timpson|The Lord Timpson]] | incumbentsince = 5 July 2024 | alt = | department = [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]] | insigniacaption = [[Royal Arms]] of [[His Majesty's Government]] | insignia = Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg | flagcaption = | flagsize = | flag = | website = {{URL|https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state-minister-for-prisons}} | seat = [[Westminster]], London | reports_to = | imagecaption = Official cabinet portrait, 2024 }} The '''Minister of State for Prisons, Probation''' '''and Reducing Reoffending''' (or simply '''Prisons Minister''') is a mid-level ministerial office in the [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Minister of State – GOV.UK|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--148|access-date=2020-10-27|website=www.gov.uk|language=en}}</ref>

On 5 July 2024 [[James Timpson]] was appointed by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Keir Starmer]].

== Responsibilities == The [[Minister (government)|minister]] currently has responsibility of the following policy areas:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Minister of State – GOV.UK|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--147|access-date=2023-11-15|website=www.gov.uk|language=en}}</ref>

*Prison operations, policy, reform and industrial relations *Probation policy and operations *Youth justice *Parole *Offender health *Offender Cohorts *Extremism *Home Detention Curfew (HDC) *Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) schemes *Drugs *Reducing reoffending *Female offenders *Foreign National Offenders

The minister also provides support on Global Britain and the promotion of legal services.

== List of ministers for prisons == {| class="wikitable" ! colspan="2" |Name !Portrait ! width="130" |Took office ! width="130" |Left office !Political party ! colspan="2" |Prime Minister |- ! colspan="8" |Position created out of [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department|Minister of State for Home Affairs]] Minister of State for Prisons |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Ann Widdecombe]] MP for [[Maidstone (UK Parliament constituency)|Maidstone]] |[[File:Ann Widdecombe as a Minister of State.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |28 February 1995 |2 May 1997 |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[John Major]] ([[Second Major ministry|ll]]) |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Joyce Quin]] MP for [[Gateshead East and Washington West]] |[[File:Television makers David BELLAMY and Paul DICKIN receive the Europe Prize for their documentary Turning the Tide (cropped).jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |2 May 1997 |28 July 1998 | rowspan="4" |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! rowspan="3" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="3" |[[Tony Blair]] ([[First Blair ministry|I]]) |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn]] | |28 July 1998 |28 July 1999 |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Charles Clarke]] MP for [[Norwich South]] |[[File:Charles Clarke - 140861407 (cropped).jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |July 1999 |June 2001 |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley|Keith Bradley]] MP for [[Manchester, Withington]] |[[File:Official portrait of Lord Bradley crop 2.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |June 2001 |May 2002 ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Tony Blair]] ([[Second Blair ministry|II]]) |- ! colspan="8" |Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Hilary Benn]] MP for [[Leeds Central]] |[[File:Hilary Benn.jpg|frameless|127x127px]] |29 May 2002 |13 May 2003 |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | [[Tony Blair]] ([[Second Blair ministry|II]]) |- ! colspan="8" |Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Criminal Justice, Race and Victims |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Fiona Mactaggart]] MP for [[Slough (UK Parliament constituency)|Slough]] |[[File:Fiona McTaggart MP for Slough.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |13 June 2003 |5 May 2006 |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | [[Tony Blair]] ([[Second Blair ministry|II]]+[[Third Blair ministry|III]]) |- ! colspan="8" |Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation Services |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Gerry Sutcliffe]] MP for [[Bradford South]] |[[File:Gerry Sutcliffe.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |5 May 2006 |29 June 2007 |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | [[Tony Blair]] ([[Third Blair ministry|III]]) |- ! colspan="8" |Minister of State for Justice and Equalities |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Maria Eagle]] MP for [[Liverpool Garston]] |[[File:Maria Eagle 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |2 July 2007 |6 May 2010 |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | | [[Gordon Brown]] ([[Brown ministry|I]]) |- ! colspan="8" |Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Youth Justice |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Crispin Blunt]] MP for [[Reigate (UK Parliament constituency)|Reigate]], [[Surrey]] |[[File:Crispin-blunt-high-res-web.jpg|frameless|132x132px]] |6 May 2010 |4 September 2012 | rowspan="6" |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[David Cameron]] ([[Cameron–Clegg coalition|Coalition]]) |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Jeremy Wright]] MP for [[Kenilworth and Southam]] |[[File:150 Years of International Humanitarian Law- The UK Perspective (15472786757) (cropped).jpg|frameless|122x122px]] |6 September 2012 |[[2014 British cabinet reshuffle|15 July 2014]] |- ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[Andrew Selous]] MP for [[South West Bedfordshire]] | rowspan="2" |[[File:Andrew Selous.jpg|frameless|88x88px]] | rowspan="2" |[[2014 British cabinet reshuffle|16 July 2014]] | rowspan="2" |16 July 2016 |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[David Cameron]] ([[Second Cameron ministry|II]]) |- ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[Sam Gyimah]] MP for [[East Surrey]] | rowspan="2" |[[File:Official portrait of Mr Sam Gyimah crop 2.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] | rowspan="2" |17 July 2016 | rowspan="2" |9 January 2018 ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Theresa May]] {{small|([[First May ministry|I]])}} |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Theresa May]] {{small|([[Second May ministry|II]])}} |- ! colspan="8" |Minister of State for Prisons |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Rory Stewart]] MP for [[Penrith and The Border]] |[[File:Rory Stewart Official Portrait 2018 (cropped).jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |9 January 2018 |[[Second May ministry#Changes 2|1 May 2019]] | rowspan="2" |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[Theresa May]] {{small|([[Second May ministry|II]])}} |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Robert Buckland]] MP for [[South Swindon (constituency)|South Swindon]] |[[File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Robert Buckland MP crop 2.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |[[Second May ministry#Changes 2|9 May 2019]] |24 July 2019 ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |- ! colspan="8" |Minister of State for Prisons and Probation |- ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[Lucy Frazer]] MP for [[South East Cambridgeshire]] | rowspan="2" |[[File:Lucy Frazer 2019 ministerial portrait (cropped).jpg|frameless|117x117px]] | rowspan="2" |25 July 2019 | rowspan="2" |4 March 2021 | rowspan="6" |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Boris Johnson]] {{small|([[First Johnson ministry|I]])}} |- ! rowspan="4" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="5" |[[Boris Johnson]] {{small|([[Second Johnson ministry|II]])}} |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Alex Chalk]] MP for [[Cheltenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheltenham]] |[[File:Official portrait of Alex Chalk MP crop 2.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |4 March 2021 |10 September 2021 |- ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Lucy Frazer]] MP for [[South East Cambridgeshire]] |[[File:Official portrait of Lucy Frazer MP crop 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |10 September 2021 |16 September 2021 |- |[[Victoria Atkins]] MP for [[Louth and Horncastle]] |[[File:Official portrait of Victoria Atkins MP crop 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |16 September 2021 |6 July 2022 |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Stuart Andrew]] MP for [[Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Pudsey]] |[[File:Official portrait of Stuart Andrew crop 2, 2021.jpg|frameless|119x119px]] |8 July 2022 |7 September 2022 ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |- ! colspan="8" |Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Rob Butler (politician)|Rob Butler]] MP for [[Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Aylesbury]] |[[File:Official portrait of Rob Butler crop 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |20 September 2022 |27 October 2022 |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Liz Truss]] {{small|([[Truss ministry|I]])}} |- ! colspan="8" |Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Damian Hinds]] MP for [[East Hampshire (UK Parliament constituency)|East Hampshire]] |[[File:Official portrait of Damian Hinds MP crop 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |27 October 2022 |[[November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle|13 November 2023]] | rowspan="2" |[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | rowspan="2" |[[Rishi Sunak]] {{small|([[Sunak ministry|I]])}} |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |[[Edward Argar]] MP for [[Charnwood (UK Parliament constituency)|Charnwood]] |[[File:Edward Argar Official Cabinet Portrait, September 2022 (cropped).jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |[[November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle|14 November 2023]] |5 July 2024 |- ! colspan="8" |Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[James Timpson, Baron Timpson]] |[[File:James Timpson Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped).jpg|frameless|117x117px]] |5 July 2024 |Incumbent | rowspan="2" |[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ! rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |[[Keir Starmer]] {{small|([[Starmer ministry|I]])}} |}

== See also == * [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)]] * [[His Majesty's Prison Service]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Prisons ministers]] [[Category:Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Prisons in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)]] [[Category:English law]] [[Category:Home Office (United Kingdom)]] [[Category:2010 establishments in England]] [[Category:2010 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1995 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:British government officials]]