News

Reports on independent reviews of progress at HMP Brixton and HMP Winchester

In line with the national trend across the prison estate, HMP Norwich was struggling to provide meaningful work, education, and activities for the 700 prisoners it held.

Inspectors monitoring an escort and removal flight to Zimbabwe found that generally detainees were treated well by staff. Three women and six men were on the flight in September, which was the first inspected since removals to Zimbabwe restarted in 2021 after an interval of several years.

Blog from Hindpal Singh Bhui, lead inspector for the thematic review into the experiences of adult black male prisoners and black prison staff.

HMP Northumberland, a category C resettlement prison in the north east of England was safer than during the last inspection in 2017, according to prison inspectors. However, the provision of meaningful work, education and training was lacking, and inspectors were particularly disappointed with limited rehabilitative opportunities and poor oversight of public protection. Staff shortages had severely impacted the prison’s ability to fulfil these crucial functions.

Divisions between black prisoners and white prison staff are entrenched throughout the prison service, and black prison staff report very negative experiences at work. But both of these problems could be tackled through taking a more creative approach focused on building mutual trust and respect. This is one of the key findings of ‘Thematic review: The experiences of adult black male prisoners and black prison staff’, published today.

Isis is a modern prison in south-east London, with an unstable and challenging population; around 80 new prisoners arrive each month, many of whom are involved at some level with London gangs. On this visit, inspectors were impressed with the governor and her commitment to improvement, but there were some disappointing findings, particularly in the area of rehabilitation and release planning.

Inspectors visiting Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) found an establishment providing good care and support to the women detained there, particularly in health care, yet with urgent improvements needed areas of safety.

Lancaster Farms, located just outside the city of Lancaster, was providing decent outcomes for the 544 men held there at the time of our inspection. The prison was reasonably calm, with well-maintained buildings and grounds, and had improved its rehabilitation and release planning. However, following the trend across the estate, provision of purposeful activity – education, training, and work – was lacking.

Inspectors returning to Feltham A were pleased to find that decent outcomes for children had been maintained since the last full inspection earlier this year.