A graduate recruitment charity is facing an uncertain future after an £4m annual government contract that makes up almost all of its income was not renewed. 

Unlocked Graduates has recruited university graduates to work as prison officers for the past eight years.

The charity’s contract with the Ministry of Justice runs until 2026 but an agreement between the two organisations for a further term could not be reached. 

Unlocked Graduates had an income of £4.2m in its latest accounts for the financial year ending 31 March 2023.

The charity said, as a result of the breakdown in negotiations, it did not have a contract to recruit any further cohorts.

The Ministry of Justice said the charity was offered a contract to continue providing the service but it was rejected. 

Unlocked Graduates has three cohorts in its current programme and has recruited more than 900 graduates since it was founded in 2016.

“Over the past eight years, Unlocked has launched and run a hugely successful graduate leadership development programme for the prison service in England and Wales,” the charity said.

“Our participants have helped to transform the lives of tens of thousands of prisoners. We are therefore deeply saddened that we have been unable to agree terms with the Ministry of Justice to continue to deliver this work.

“We hope in the coming weeks that the new government can work with Unlocked to find a way forward so we are able to recruit a 2025 cohort.

“Not doing so ultimately deprives the prison service of the talent it so desperately needs and deserves.”

The charity said prisons were a “national priority” at the moment and the system is facing “real challenges”.

A spokesperson for Unlocked Graduates said: “There has never been a greater need for innovative and excellent leaders to lead change from the inside out.”

A spokesperson for the MoJ said Unlocked Graduates was contracted to provide its “valuable service” until 2026 and the government department thanked the charity for its work.

The spokesperson said: “The terms of the tender process for the prison officer graduate scheme were clear throughout the procurement process and accepted by all bidders, including Unlocked Graduates.

“We offered Unlocked Graduates the contract on those terms and it is disappointing to see them withdraw from the process at this late stage. 

“However, changing the terms after the tender process would have risked a legal challenge and a resultant waste of taxpayers’ money.”