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In this blog, Charlie Taylor explores purposeful activity findings from inspections of four category C prisons: Rochester, The Mount, Brixton and Coldingley.

Inspectors to HMP&YOI Doncaster, a category B reception and resettlement prison in South Yorkshire, found a safe and well-led establishment. As a busy and complex prison, catering for a wide variety of men and young adults – including 165 foreign nationals and 170 men convicted of sexual offences – it did well to maintain mostly good outcomes for those held.

Inspectors to HMP Elmley, a category B and C prison, found a facility that had made little progress since the last inspection nearly three years ago. The Isle of Sheppey prison was judged ‘not sufficiently good’ in all four healthy prison tests. Education provision was particularly poor for the 1,095 men held there, and governance of use of force had slipped.

It is almost three years since my predecessor Peter Clarke announced an Urgent Notification for HMYOI Feltham A following an unannounced inspection. He pointed to a “dramatic decline” in performance at the YOI and “numerous significant concerns about the treatment and conditions of children” held there.

Inspectors to HMYOI Feltham A, a young offender institution (YOI) in north-west London, found an establishment recovering from a worrying decline. In 2019 the Chief Inspector had invoked the Urgent Notification (UN) process due to the chaos and violence in Feltham, and it was pleasing to see a safer, happier, and more productive environment at this visit.

Inspectors to HMP Bedford, a category B local men’s prison with a resettlement function, found very promising progress and a sustained focus on improving change in the failing jail. Over the last three years the governor had developed a clear vision for HMP Bedford after the Urgent Notification was invoked in 2018, driving improvement in a prison that Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, described as “dangerous, understaffed and dilapidated” at the time of the leadership change.

Inspectors returning to HMYOI Cookham Wood, a young offender institution in Kent, found that progress had been inconsistent since their last full inspection in August 2021. At the 2021 inspection, inspectors been concerned about the high levels of violence, lack of purposeful activity, and poor behaviour going unchallenged by staff.

Royal Holloway’s Magna Carta Lecture given by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, at the Middle Temple Hall in London, 6 June 2022

Inspectors to HMP Forest Bank, the only reception and resettlement prison in the Greater Manchester area, found a prison unable to fulfil its role successfully. The prison held 1,354 prisoners, nearly 300 above its baseline capacity, and as a consequence, prisoners were often diverted to other establishments on arrival, undermining the core focus of the jail.

Inspectors returning to HMP Belmarsh, the only reception prison in the high security estate, were encouraged to find that progress had been made since their last full inspection in July and August 2021. At the 2021 inspection, inspectors had been concerned to find high levels of violence, inadequate governance of the use of force, poor use of data, and severely limited time out of cell for prisoners, despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions.