Table 5 Alternative measures to austerity

5a) Calls to reduce the current prison population

[P] risons, like hospitals, are expensive. Prison health is best served when the general principle of avoiding sending people to prisons is applied … . In England, and in several other Western European countries, many people are sent to prison who should not be sent to prison. [They would] be much better looked after in society by the health and welfare system. (Participant 2, Consultant for an international health organisation)

5b) Intergovernmental organisations and pressure groups to provide greater oversight of prison health obligations

[It’s] important that you have civil society organisations and independent monitoring boards involved … seeing what’s happening in prisons, writing reports and telling the rest of the public what’s actually happening within [prisons]. (Participant 18)

5c) The need for a social conversation about taxation

We need a big social conversation about taxation. We view taxation as a dreadful imposition by the government. Actually, it’s a resource. People should be paying their taxes. Corporations should be paying their taxes. We shouldn’t be encouraging people to avoid them in any way. It’s fundamentally about deciding on the purpose of taxation and kind of reframing it, not as an imposition on individual freedom, but actually a resource for the whole of society and something we all benefit from. (Participant 29)

5d) Enticing public interest via a transparent discussion of prison spending

[E] ven if people are not interested in human rights and they are not interested in addressing the health needs of vulnerable and marginalised people, they usually care about how much money they spend. (Participant 21, Regional Lead of an international health organisation)