Fit for purpose or falling apart? A review of living conditions in prison

What we found

Overcrowding, poor sanitation, deteriorating infrastructure and long delays to essential maintenance are causing persistent problems across the prison estate, rendering much of it inadequate.

The report analysed inspections of 40 prisons and more than 6,400 prisoner surveys. Around half of the prisoners surveyed lived in accommodation built before the 1980s that had never been significantly refurbished since its construction. Conditions were often particularly poor in the older, Victorian reception prisons, where population pressures and high turnover made it difficult to carry out repairs and improvements. Mould, broken windows, inadequate ventilation, damaged flooring, and a lack of basic furniture and storage were common. Poor ventilation contributed to overheating in jails during the summer, while unreliable heating systems left many cold during the winter.