Recommendations 16 items · 7 repeated
Recommendations were extracted from the report by AI, and responses and their status from the ministerial response by AI. Each recommendation shows whether its wording has been checked against the report.
Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Estate · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Does the minister consider it fair and humane that any men should be living in unhygienic conditions and with no in-cell sanitation while they wait for the refurbishment to be completed?
Government response (as published)
Awareness of the start of the wider Main refurbishment programme to be completed by November 2026; this includes in-cell sanitation.
Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Overcrowding
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Prison estate population pressure means more than just over-crowding. It affects prisoner personal safety and welfare. Can a new policy be drafted urgently to guide prisons on how to deal with the deepening accommodation crisis?
Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Resettlement · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
The number and situation of those given IPP sentences has only grown worse at Coldingley. What plans does the minister have to reconsider the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s recommendation to establish a process to review how such prisoners could be re-sentenced?
Government response (as published)
Reporting that Justice Select Committee enquiry into the IPP sentence had been published and that the evidence and recommendations would be reviewed and publicised.
Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Safety · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
The refurbishment of the old wings won’t be complete until late 2026, at the earliest. Their exceptionally low ceilings mean no CCTV cameras survive very long. Without effective CCTV this will continue to be an unsafe environment for prisoners and staff alike. What can the Prison Service do as a matter of urgency to help the Governor address this dangerous situation?
Government response (as published)
No improvements in the CCTV situation despite senior management team (SMT) concern. Temporary Governor has made a bid for significant new funding.
Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Safety · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Group arrivals of prisoners are happening without the necessary checks for connections. This has become noticeably worse over the past year. What can be done to improve the quality of pre-transfer checking being undertaken and ensure all prisoners are housed safely and kept apart from known connections?
Government response (as published)
Creating a Security in Prisons Investment Programme, an expanded Serious & Organised Crime unit, creating a crime in prisons taskforce, body scanners, biometric screening.
Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Substance Misuse
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Incentivised Substance Free Living is a safe and humane way in which to treat those with substance and related issues. Coldingley’s ISFL wing has become overcrowded with a complex mix of prisoners. It is rife with illicit substances. With the associated debts and bullying, it no longer functions as a specialist place for recovery. What can be done to restore it to its original purpose?
Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Safety
Recommendation (the Board's words)
The CSU is dilapidated and small with a high proportion of its residents during the past year being vulnerable and on open ACCT documents. What can be done to provide alternative accommodation for those whose need is primarily a place of shelter from threat and assault or a place for close medical oversight?
Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Complaints · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Property lost during transfer between prisons continues to be widespread, complaints are increasing year on year at a cost to the Prison Service in terms of both staff resources and financial compensation. Losing one's personal belongings has a detrimental effect on prisoners and is not fair. Last year’s Policy Framework has not solved the problem. What does the Prison Service plan to do about it now?
Government response (as published)
Policy framework aimed to provide consistency and fairness between sites and enhance prisoner outcomes. Digital transformation was a longer-term project.
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Substance Misuse · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
In order to keep prisoners safe and the wings more orderly, what plans does the Governor have to deal with the alarmingly high increase in the use and manufacture of illegally brewed alcohol and psychoactive substances?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Safety
Recommendation (the Board's words)
In view of the high levels of contraband and potential effects to both safety and good order in the establishment, what plans does the Governor have to change the levels of staffing and random cell searches that take place in Coldingley?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Regime
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Changes which affect prisoners have not always been well communicated within Coldingley. This creates an atmosphere of confusion and at times hostility. What can the Governor do to improve the methods of communication to ensure all prisoners understand the changes and why they are considered necessary?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Equality · Repeated from a previous year
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Muslim prisoners continue to be over-represented in use of force incidents in Coldingley. What does the Governor plan to do to further investigate why this issue has been so persistent?
Government response (as published)
Use of force governance is continually being reviewed and Governor reviews all incidents.
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Equality
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Certain preferred residential areas and jobs in Coldingley are predominantly and very noticeably allocated to white prisoners. Prisoners from ethnic minorities are well-aware of this. What does the Governor plan to do to address this and ensure that every prisoner is treated equally and fairly?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Staffing
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Key work is central to offender management in custody (OMiC) and the relationship between key worker, offender manager and prisoner is crucial to OMiC’s success. The numbers of key work sessions recorded have greatly increased in the past year, but the lack of quality checking of reports, feedback and the patchy service given to new arrivals mean that the system still has a long way to go. What does the Governor plan to do to improve this?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Resettlement
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Since the start of 2023 there has been a near doubling of prisoners without sentence plans – it now amounts to around 10% of all Coldingley prisoners. How is this sudden deterioration to be addressed?
Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Complaints
Recommendation (the Board's words)
Complaints from prisoners provide a vital insight into aspects of prison life which are not working well. There is evidence that there are has been a deterioration in quality of response to complaints, with many prisoners stating 'there is no point'. What plans does the Governor have to improve the system and restore trust in the prisoners that they will be listened to when something has gone wrong?