ABSTRACT
This is the first of five chapters that present findings from this study. It illustrates the extent to which the research participants believed austerity had been politically framed and mobilised throughout the English prison system. Their understanding of austerity is multifaceted. It is clear from the government’s Benchmarking Programme and the Fair and Sustainable Programme that austerity was neither based on evidence nor carefully thought through. These measures were implemented experimentally, which subsequently compromised the system’s stability.
