More should be done to prevent short-sentenced prisoners from reoffending, says a report by the National Audit Office.

With more than 60,000 prisoners serving sentences less than 12 months – and 60% of these reconvicted within a year of release – a National Audit Office report has recommended that more is done to rehabilitate prisoners and reduce the risk of reoffending.

The majority of those with short sentences have an average of 16 previous convictions and serve just six weeks or less in prison as they are automatically released once they have served half their given sentence (on average three months).

In addition, many also have other issues to contend with, such as drug problems and homelessness, and are most likely to have been convicted for crimes of theft or violence.

The report found that almost half of these prisoners spent almost all day in their cells, and were not involved in any form of work or courses that could discourage reoffending.

Although critical of the attention given to short-sentenced prisoners, the National Audit Office did recognise that the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) – the body responsible for managing such prisoners – was operating successfully by keeping the prisoners safe and well despite the constraints of lack of space and overcrowding.

Amyas Morse, Head of the National Audit Office, said: “Achieving NOMS’ goal of reducing re-offending by short-sentenced prisoners is challenging both because there are so many prisoners and because of the few weeks they have in custody.

“However, it is reasonable to expect progress towards that goal. More coherent plans for prisoners, tailored to reducing their risk of re-offending would be a good first step. As they take their new strategy forward, NOMS and the Ministry have the opportunity to put the management of short-sentenced prisoners on a better footing.”

The cost to NOMS of these 60,000 short-term sentenced prisoners – around 9% of all prisoners – is around £300 million a year. Those reconvicted a year after release cost, in social and economic terms, an estimated £7-10 billion annually. The National Audit Office has suggested that this money would be better spent improving the work carried out by prisons with these offenders.

It has proffered many recommendations, which include: increasing the number of “purposeful” in-cell activities; providing better access to job-searching tools; and assessing each prisoner using a single methodology.

According to the Home Office, the projected prison population for 2013 is 106,550, while the Prison Reform Trust claims that England and Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in western Europe.