Prisons should come under the control of local authorities, the Commission on English Prisons has claimed. The body set up by the Howard League for Penal Reform and led by Cherie Booth would like to see jails, with the exception of high-security ones, run and managed by councils. After publishing the interim report on localism, Ms Booth said: ‘We are examining what this new localism might mean for the penal system, and the paper published outlines areas for debate.' The report concludes a ‘more local approach to criminal justice should be explored if we are to promote confident and safe communities', instead of the ‘Titanic' prisons the government currently use, built on economies of scale and alienated from communities. The suggestion has won backing from thinktanks, the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) and the New Local Government Network (NLGN). The LGiU's centre for service transformation head, Amelia Cookson, said: ‘The commission's call for local authorities to hold budgets locally and commission from a holistic understanding of what is needed for their area is precisely what we have been saying.' The NLGN's deputy director Anna Turley said: ‘Local authorities are best placed to take a leading role in managing penal policy and resettling offenders.'