Recommendations & Conclusions
17 items
6
Recommendation
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
The Ministry is still reeling from the long-term consequences of its unrealistic 2015 Spending Review settlement, and bears the financial and human cost of sustained underinvestment. The Ministry admits that its 2015 Spending Review settlement was over-optimistic and fundamentally unbalanced. It over-estimated how much income it would receive and overestimated …
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The Ministry is still reeling from the long-term consequences of its unrealistic 2015 Spending Review settlement, and bears the financial and human cost of sustained underinvestment. The Ministry admits that its 2015 Spending Review settlement was over-optimistic and fundamentally unbalanced. It over-estimated how much income it would receive and overestimated the level of savings it could make in areas such as Legal Aid. This has created an insecure financial footing for the Department over the past five years, resulting in it repeatedly going cap- in-hand to HM Treasury to ask for additional funds or having to use funds from elsewhere. Prisoners and prison staff have been forced to bear the human cost of the maintenance backlogs, lack of capacity and poor-quality services that have been created as a result. Prisoner assaults on staff have increased by 100% between 2015– 2019, with one assault now taking place every hour. There were also over 50,000 incidents of self-harm in 2018; the Ministry is right to be worried by these numbers. Despite this position, the Ministry asserts it is confident that it has the necessary support from HM Treasury to deliver a safer and more sustainable prison estate. Recommendation: The Ministry should write to the Committee within three months setting out how it has incorporated lessons from the 2015 Spending Review in its preparations for the 2020 Spending Review. This should include demonstrating that it has robust contingency plans should it fail to secure the funding commitments it hopes for. Improving the prison estate 9 1 Maintaining the prison estate
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Government response AI summary
The government's response consisted of boilerplate text about the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme and a list of historical Treasury Minute responses, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding the Ministry's 2015 Spending Review lessons and 2020 Spending Review preparations.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service on improving the prison estate.1
Government response AI summary
The government response discussed NHS resilience, social care, supply chains, Test and Trace, and vaccines, none of which were related to the committee's observation about taking evidence on the prison estate.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
Research commissioned by HMPPS found that the prison environment, including the condition of accommodation, played a role in how prisoners behave.20 Between 2015 and 2018, among adult prisoners, key indicators of poor safety in prisons reached all- time highs. This included a 110% increase in prisoner assaults on staff; a …
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Research commissioned by HMPPS found that the prison environment, including the condition of accommodation, played a role in how prisoners behave.20 Between 2015 and 2018, among adult prisoners, key indicators of poor safety in prisons reached all- time highs. This included a 110% increase in prisoner assaults on staff; a 63% increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults; and an alarming 73% increase in self-harm incidents. In addition, between 2015 and 2018, there were 378 self-inflicted deaths in prison custody.21 We heard from Professor Dominique Moran, who told us that records levels of self-harm and violence within prisons came at immense personal cost to the prisoners and staff involved, as well as carrying significant costs for the prison system.22
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Government response AI summary
The government response merely restated the committee's observation about the link between prison environment and prisoner behavior, and statistics on assaults, self-harm, and deaths, without adding any new information or committing to action.
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We asked HMPPS why it tolerated such unacceptable levels of prisoner assaults on staff and what it was doing to reduce levels of assaults on staff and self-inflicted deaths. HMPPS asserted that it was very concerned by the number of assaults on staff and was working to reduce this through …
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We asked HMPPS why it tolerated such unacceptable levels of prisoner assaults on staff and what it was doing to reduce levels of assaults on staff and self-inflicted deaths. HMPPS asserted that it was very concerned by the number of assaults on staff and was working to reduce this through more staff, the introduction of key workers to improve relations between prisoners and staff, the offender management programme and other activities. It told us that in the 12 months to March 2020 the number of prisoner assaults on staff had fallen 4%, although we note this figure is nonetheless a substantial increase since 2015. HMPPS similarly told us that it was very worried by the extent of self-harm within prisons. It explained it was working to help prisoners with their mental health and to feel safe and secure in prison, including new procedures and processes for people who were of concern.23 17 Q 31, C&AG’s report paras 8, 1.4, 1.12 18 Qq 34–37, C&AG’s report paras 8, 1.13–1.14 19 Qq 31–33 20 HM Prison & Probation Service, Understanding prison violence: A rapid evidence assessment, analytical summary, 2018, C&AG’s report, para 1.4 21 Qq 47, 52, C&AG’s report, para 1.4 22 IPE0002 - Improving the prison estate, Professor Dominique Moran, 1 July 2020 23 Q 47–50, 52 12 Improving the prison estate Facilities management in the prison estate
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Government response AI summary
The government response merely reiterates the committee's summary of HMPPS's existing assurances regarding efforts to reduce prisoner assaults on staff and self-inflicted deaths, without providing any new information or further government position.
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
Against a backdrop of worsening living conditions for prisoners, HMPPS changed the way in which it maintains prisons and launched a programme to improve the condition and suitability of prison accommodation. In 2015 it contracted Amey and Carillion to provide facilities management across the prison estate. HMPPS’ decision to outsource …
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Against a backdrop of worsening living conditions for prisoners, HMPPS changed the way in which it maintains prisons and launched a programme to improve the condition and suitability of prison accommodation. In 2015 it contracted Amey and Carillion to provide facilities management across the prison estate. HMPPS’ decision to outsource facilities management was driven by the need to make savings and meet spending reduction commitments made by the Ministry. It estimated that outsourcing facilities management would save £79 million a year between 2014–15 and 2020–21.24 The Ministry admitted that “everything was driven by cost savings and by price”.25
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We last examined the Ministry’s progress in outsourcing its probation services in May 2019. We concluded that in its haste to rush through its reforms, the Ministry of Justice had not only failed to deliver its ‘rehabilitation revolution’ but left probation services underfunded and fragile. We warned that if it …
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We last examined the Ministry’s progress in outsourcing its probation services in May 2019. We concluded that in its haste to rush through its reforms, the Ministry of Justice had not only failed to deliver its ‘rehabilitation revolution’ but left probation services underfunded and fragile. We warned that if it did not put into practice the lessons from its failed reforms, the Ministry was in danger of repeating the same mistakes again.26 The Ministry accepted that there were similarities between its transforming rehabilitation programme and its approach to outsourcing facilities management. It admitted that it had prioritised acting quickly and achieving savings that were unrealistic and had made mistakes as a result. It recognised that it had taken a complex service to a market that was brand new, with complicated contracts, cost incentives that were in the wrong place and assumptions that were not properly tested. It also explained that it had outsourced “hundreds and hundreds” of small contracts or in-house services and put them out to the sector “without what it was that we were asking the sector to do”. As a result, providers had taken on the facilities management contracts without being able to fully understand what they were taking on.27
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We asked the Ministry why it kept making the same mistakes when it came to contracting out services and how it would avoid these in future. The Ministry told us that it would no longer let contracts using the approach that it took in 2015. It explained that the main …
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We asked the Ministry why it kept making the same mistakes when it came to contracting out services and how it would avoid these in future. The Ministry told us that it would no longer let contracts using the approach that it took in 2015. It explained that the main lesson it had learned from first-generation outsourcing was that it needed to know what it was outsourcing in much more detail. It told us that in both transforming rehabilitation and facilities management, it had been a mistake to try to outsource a problem, and that it would have been better to first work out what the problem was, fix it and then outsource the service. It assured us that with the next generation of contracts it was taking its time, including undertaking a comprehensive asset survey, and that it was pricing the contracts correctly to incentivise quality rather than cost.28
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a not-for-profit government company, to assume responsibility for its work.29 The Ministry told us that its contract with Carillion was “a mess” and badly managed.30 It explained that it had known that its contract with Carillion …
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Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a not-for-profit government company, to assume responsibility for its work.29 The Ministry told us that its contract with Carillion was “a mess” and badly managed.30 It explained that it had known that its contract with Carillion was going “badly wrong” and it had looked at whether it could exit. It explained that it had been locked into 24 C&AG’s report, para 2, 2.2–2.3 25 Q 63 26 Committee of Public Accounts, Transforming Rehabilitation: A progress review, Ninety-Fourth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 1747, 3 May 2019 27 Qq 53, 63, 65 28 Qq 63, 65 29 C&AG’s report, para 2.3 30 Qq 63, 77 Improving the prison estate 13 the contract and it would have been very expensive to exit and bring the services in-house. The Ministry told us that it now had a much stronger commercial function, with skilled and capable staff, and that the Crown commercial function was also stronger, so it was confident it was now much better at outsourcing.31
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Government response AI summary
The government response was a direct copy of the committee's conclusion, reiterating the description of events and the Ministry's statements about its commercial function, without providing any additional information or a government stance.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the contracts was that demand for reactive maintenance work as a result of poor-quality assets or vandalism cost the taxpayer almost £143 million more than expected between 2015–16 and the first half of 2019–20.32 We asked …
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One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the contracts was that demand for reactive maintenance work as a result of poor-quality assets or vandalism cost the taxpayer almost £143 million more than expected between 2015–16 and the first half of 2019–20.32 We asked why it had taken HMPPS so long to understand the condition of the assets in the prison estate. HMPPS told us that, under the first generation of contracts, providers were responsible for producing a detailed survey but the quality of what was provided was mixed so it had decided to undertake this centrally. It expected to start the survey in January 2019 but had difficulty finding providers to take on the work due to a lack of interest. HMPPS started a pilot survey using its own staff in two prisons in April 2020. It told us that it was now two-thirds of the way through its asset survey and had captured data for three-quarters of the sites it needed to include in the survey. It also told us that two prisons, at Birmingham and Onley, were now using live asset data to manage their day-to-day operations. Prior to the pandemic, HMPPS expected the pilot surveys to be complete by August 2020.33 It explained it had revised its timetable and was now “working quickly”. HMPPS accepted that it had been somewhat naïve to expect providers to be able to produce a better quality asset registers than it was able to, and asserted that it had learned lessons from this experience.34 Both the Ministry and HMPPS told us that the survey that was now being undertaken would provide a much more comprehensive and detailed inventory of the assets in the prison estate.35 The female prison estate
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We asked the Ministry what percentage of those in prison were women and how many prisons in England and Wales held female offenders. The Ministry accepted that these were numbers that it could reasonably be expected to know, but it was not able to provide them when we asked. Of …
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We asked the Ministry what percentage of those in prison were women and how many prisons in England and Wales held female offenders. The Ministry accepted that these were numbers that it could reasonably be expected to know, but it was not able to provide them when we asked. Of the 117 prisons in England and Wales, 12 hold female offenders. Female prisoners represent around 5% of the overall prison population.36
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Government response AI summary
The government response is an exact copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
As a result of our questioning, we were concerned that the female prison estate was a Cinderella service within the prison system. HMPPS removed plans to build new places for female prisoners from the Prison Estate Transformation Programme, as its Female Offender Strategy, launched in June 2018, superseded the programme’s …
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As a result of our questioning, we were concerned that the female prison estate was a Cinderella service within the prison system. HMPPS removed plans to build new places for female prisoners from the Prison Estate Transformation Programme, as its Female Offender Strategy, launched in June 2018, superseded the programme’s plans. We asked why the Prison Estate Transformation programme did not cover the female estate and how witnesses would ensure that the estate did not deteriorate because it was forgotten. The Ministry explained that the government’s strategy for the female prison estate was different to that for offenders overall to take into account the “different nature of women offending and the positions in which women find themselves when they get into trouble with the law”.37 In written evidence, De Montfort University similarly told us that women 31 Qq 67–68 32 Q 77, C&AG’s report Figure 6 33 Qq 69, 71–72, C&AG’s report, para 2.9 34 Qq 70, 72 35 Qq 65, 69, 73 36 Qq 79–80, 82, C&AG’s report Figure 1 37 Qq 81–82, C&AG’s report, Figure 9 14 Improving the prison estate had gendered pathways into crime and therefore gendered pathways out of crime.38 The Ministry told us that the government’s strategy for female offenders was focused on community services and the women’s centres rather than on building prisons. The strategy aims to reduce demand for female prison places by emphasising earlier intervention and community-based rehabilitation, so there are fewer women in the criminal justice system and serving custodial sentences.39 Community alternatives to prison have shown to be effective for women, but to date have been starved of investment.40
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a verbatim copy of the committee's text, including its concerns and questions, and does not provide an actual substantive reply or engagement with the issues raised.
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HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
One of the largest women’s prisons, HMP Holloway in London, was closed in 2016. HMPPS sold the prison in March 2019 and generated £81.5 million from the proceeds.41 We were concerned that such a large amount of money had come out of the female prison estate but appeared to have …
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One of the largest women’s prisons, HMP Holloway in London, was closed in 2016. HMPPS sold the prison in March 2019 and generated £81.5 million from the proceeds.41 We were concerned that such a large amount of money had come out of the female prison estate but appeared to have been spent on improving the men’s prisons estate. We therefore asked how much of the money raised by the sale of HMP Holloway was reinvested in the female prison estate. HMPPS told us that some of the money was used in the female prison estate but did not tell us how much this was. It said that the money from the sale was returned to the Ministry and subsequently used for “a number of purposes”. The Ministry confirmed that that the money went partly to its programme to build new prisons and partly to fund its general overspend.42
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Government response AI summary
The government response merely reiterates the committee's concern about the reinvestment of HMP Holloway sale proceeds into the female prison estate, without providing any new information, clarification, or commitment.
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We acknowledged that the female prison estate was a small part of the overall prison estate, but asked whether the Ministry thought it was nonetheless important to ensure that some of its reinvestment benefitted women prisoners to avoid them becoming more marginalised. The Ministry committed to ensuring that “the right …
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We acknowledged that the female prison estate was a small part of the overall prison estate, but asked whether the Ministry thought it was nonetheless important to ensure that some of its reinvestment benefitted women prisoners to avoid them becoming more marginalised. The Ministry committed to ensuring that “the right amount and proportion of the money available to us is invested in the women’s estate”.43 HMPPS accepted that a lot remained to be done in investing in the women’s estate and it needed to think carefully about the issue. It told us that it had not yet decided how many of its planned new prison places, or its investment in maintenance to bring accommodation back into use, would be within the female prison estate.44 The Ministry confirmed that its promised strategy for the prison estate would include the female prison estate when it was published later this year.45
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
In its written evidence, De Montfort University told us that ‘softer’ services such as contact with family, education, work based training, peer support and therapy were of huge importance in the rehabilitation of prisoners. It also told us that therapeutic community- based interventions had a greater success rate for female …
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In its written evidence, De Montfort University told us that ‘softer’ services such as contact with family, education, work based training, peer support and therapy were of huge importance in the rehabilitation of prisoners. It also told us that therapeutic community- based interventions had a greater success rate for female offenders than a prison sentence.46 Despite there being other issues with the condition of the prison, HMP Holloway had a good reputation for therapeutic interventions. We were concerned that prisoners who would have been held at Holloway were now held in prisons outside London and no longer had access to the services it provided. HMPPS told us that it had tried to keep some of the good practice that had been established in Holloway and to ensure prisoners have access to therapeutic activities. In 2016, 22 women died in prison, of which 12 were self-inflicted 38 IPE0004 - Improving the prison estate, DeMontford University, 1 July 2020, para 27 39 Q 81, C&AG’s report, Figure 9 40 IPE0003 - Improving the prison estate, Prison Reform Trust, 1 July 2020; IPE0004 - Improving the prison estate, DeMontfort University, 1 July 2020; and IPE0009 - IPE0009 - Improving the prison estate, Howard League for Penal Reform 1 July 2020 41 Qq 84–86, 89, HMPPS, Annual Report and Accounts 2018–19, HC 2291, 18 July 2019 42 Qq 86, 91 43 Q 92 44 Q 86 45 Q 82 46 IPE0004 - Improving the prison estate, DeMontford University, 1 July 2020, para 20 Improving the prison estate 15 deaths, the highest level on record. We asked HMPPS whether it thought there was any links between the closure of HMP Holloway in 2016 and the number of women who die in prison. HMPPS told us that it had not seen any evidence to suggest that there was a link between the two. It confirmed that it was concerned about the extent of self-harm within women’s prisons, and was focused on ensuring people had access to the right support.47
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
We also received written evidence from the Prison Reform Trust, which told us that women continue to serve their sentences largely in prisons designed for men and in locations far from home.48 We were therefore concerned that there were no female prisons in Wales. HMPPS recognised that enabling offenders to …
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We also received written evidence from the Prison Reform Trust, which told us that women continue to serve their sentences largely in prisons designed for men and in locations far from home.48 We were therefore concerned that there were no female prisons in Wales. HMPPS recognised that enabling offenders to keep in contact with their families was important. It told us that it tried to place women as close to their home as possible, but that this was difficult for offenders from Wales. It explained that it had prioritised introducing in-cell technology within the female prison estate so that female offenders could stay in contact with their families. The Ministry confirmed that five of the 12 women’s prisons now had in-cell technology, and that four more would receive it this year, meaning that all closed women’s prisons would then have in-cell technology. HMPPS told us that women prisoners had found the in-cell technology enormously beneficial. We also welcomed HMPPs’ confirmation that it would be introducing a women’s centre in Wales as an alternative to custody.49 47 Qq 88–90, IPE0002 - Improving the prison estate, Professor Dominique Moran, 1 July 2020 48 IPE0003 - Improving the prison estate, Prison Reform Trust, 1 July 2020 49 Qq 82, 86–87, 90, 93 16 Improving the prison estate 2 Responding to demands on the prison estate Crowding within the prison estate
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Not Addressed
Rising demand for prison places, places being taken out of use and delays in building new prisons have put significant pressure on the capacity of the prison estate. At December 2019, the prison population had reached 98% of the usable capacity of the estate. 60% of adult prisons are crowded, …
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Rising demand for prison places, places being taken out of use and delays in building new prisons have put significant pressure on the capacity of the prison estate. At December 2019, the prison population had reached 98% of the usable capacity of the estate. 60% of adult prisons are crowded, meaning prisoners are sharing prison cells designed for fewer prisoners. The NAO found that the top ten most crowded prisons were operating at between 147% and 163% of their uncrowded capacity.50 Some prisons, such as Wandsworth and Durham, were hugely over capacity, at 152% and 157% respectively.51 Population pressures mean that prisoners are not always held in prisons that meet their needs. As at November 2018, there was a surplus of 18,700 places in local prisons serving local courts, and a shortfall of 15,000 places in prisons which provide training and resettlement support. This means that many prisoners live in unnecessarily stringent security conditions while others live in low-security environments relative to their higher risks.52 We received written evidence from Middlesex University, which told us that this lack of capacity resulted in prisoners “becoming trapped within a prison unable to meet their needs and denied a sense of progression to a lower security facility, cementing individuals into the local prison system”.53
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Government response AI summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
Read full response →
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison…
Both the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and the Prison Reform Trust told us that while the worst-case scenario for deaths from the pandemic had been avoided, the cost to the mental health of prisoners was certain to be very high..65 We asked how HMPPS was addressing …
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Both the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and the Prison Reform Trust told us that while the worst-case scenario for deaths from the pandemic had been avoided, the cost to the mental health of prisoners was certain to be very high..65 We asked how HMPPS was addressing the impact of this on the mental health of prisoners. HMPPS recognised how difficult it could be for people to be locked in their cells for longer than usual. It told us that, despite this, it had seen some “positive indicators” of mental health during the pandemic, including a reduction in the number of self-inflicted deaths in custody and a reduction in the rates of self-harm in prisons. It explained that it had worked with prisoners to make sure their mental health was looked after, including providing distraction packs, key worker arrangements and working with health partners on its mental health provision. It told us that it was considering that lessons it could learn from the pandemic that would better support prisoners’ mental health in future.66 Future demand for prison places
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HM Treasury