Prison perks: inmates must wear uniforms as Grayling cracks down

All convicted male prisoners are to be required to wear prison uniform for the first two weeks of their sentence under a shakeup of life in jail ordered by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling.

The changes, to be announced on Tuesday, will also mean prisoners losing automatic access to gym equipment and daytime television. They will be expected work a longer day than at present too.

The 4,000 offenders in privately run prisons will also lose access to satellite subscription channels, such as Sky Sports. Prisoners in all jails will not be allowed to watch daytime television in their cells when they should be working or engaging in purposeful activities. The change in the prison service's "incentives and earned privileges" scheme will mean that prison governors lose much of their discretion over which perks and privileges are available to reward good behaviour.

The changes, to be introduced into public and private sector prisons in England and Wales over the next six months, follows a review ordered by Grayling to ensure that life inside was not seen as a "soft touch".

Grayling said that under the new policy, the lack of bad behaviour would not be enough to earn privileges; instead inmates would have to work actively towards rehabilitation and help other prisoners.

The change will add a new "entry" level for all male prisoners for the first two weeks of their sentence in which their privileges, including access to private cash and wearing their own clothes, will be restricted.

Offenders returned to prison for breaching licence conditions will also be placed on the new entry-level for two weeks. Women prisoners will not have to wear a uniform.

The modern-day prison uniform often consists of grey trousers, grey sweatshirt and grey jumpers with prison-issue underwear and socks.

The Victorian uniform of white jacket, trousers and pill box hat all stamped with a broad arrow to signify crown property was abolished in 1922.

The G4S private prisons have led the way recently in allowing prisoners to wear their own clothes as a reward for good behaviour.

The existing three other privilege levels will be kept but a national standardised list of activities and items will be issued for governors to choose what is appropriate. Movement up the levels will depend on the positive engagement of the prisoner.

"At the end of the entry-level period, prisoners who do not co-operate with the regime or engage in rehabilitation will drop to basic level and stay there until they do. Those who do will move up to standard," said a justice ministry source.

Grayling said: "It is not right that some prisoners appear to be spending hours languishing in their cells and watching daytime television while the rest of the country goes out to work." He said that for far too long there had been an expectation that prison privileges were an automatic right for staying out of trouble.

"This cannot continue. Prisoners need to earn privileges, not simply through the avoidance of bad behaviour but also by working, taking part in education or accepting the opportunities to rehabilitate themselves," Grayling said.

Frances Crook, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the announcement amounted to ministers "pottering among the flowerbeds" while ignoring the burning building before them.

"The fact that the prison population has doubled in the past 20 years has left prisons overcrowded and staff overstretched, with little choice but to lock people up in their cells all day with nothing to do," Crook said.

"There have been numerous inspectorate reports published recently which have found prisons struggling to offer any purposeful activity within their walls. As their budgets continue to be squeezed, this problem will only get worse."