Inside Politics: Our worst prisons: named, shamed, but not yet fixed

Inside Time’s political columnist, Charlie Elphicke, has served time both in Parliament and in prison. In his monthly article, he surveys the Westminster scene.

The latest prison league tables, published this summer by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), claim an improvement in prisons last year. There are now 14 considered ‘of serious concern’, down from 22 the year before. Meanwhile 16 prisons are considered ‘outstanding’, up from 12 the year before. On the face of it, this is cause for celebration. But below the surface of the headline figures there are sources of real concern that HMPPS knows all about, but has been failing to get to grips with for a decade.

The top-rated prisons are a varied group. They are typically more modern, like Grendon and Warren Hill. Many are open prisons, like Leyhill and Thorn Cross. They include converted country estates like East Sutton Park and Askham Grange as well as former military bases like North Sea Camp and Ford.

On the other hand, the 14 worst prisons are not a varied group. All bar one is a Cat B prison and eight are reception prisons. Nine are decaying Victorian prisons. These include London prisons like Wandsworth, Brixton, Pentonville and Wormwood Scrubs. They also include Bedford and Birmingham. Four, like Swaleside and Woodhill, are more modern.

Prisons rated ‘outstanding’ 

• Ashfield
• Askham Grange
• East Sutton Park
• Ford
• Grendon
• Hatfield
• Haverigg
• Hollesley Bay
• Kirklevington Grange
• Leyhill
• North Sea Camp
• Prescoed
• Standford hill
• Thorn Cross
• Usk 
• Warren Hill

As the league table publication itself notes, nearly all of the 14 worst prisons have been issued with an Urgent Notification since that process was introduced in 2017. These are only issued where HM Chief Inspector of Prisons visits and finds severe and systemic failures, such as extreme levels of violence and officers that cannot cope. These prisons often see men locked in their cells all day long with spiralling self-harm and suicides. The living conditions are typically squalid. Drug taking is often rife, with drones drop-shipping drugs, phones and knives.

Across these worst prisons, it is significant that about half of the prisoners overall are on remand. Reading the league tables, it is obvious that there is a group of rogue prisons that HMPPS has known all about for years. Warnings have been streaming in about them from the Chief Inspector, but little or nothing has been done. Things just carry on as they always have, with all the drugs, violence, self-harming and suicides. There is no purposeful activity, no resettlement and no hope. Just endless repeats of things like Bangers and Cash, Scrap Kings and The Chase – assuming the cell TV has not previously been smashed up. This situation is completely unacceptable because the resettlement failures mean that there will be a revolving door. 

So what can the new Justice Secretary Alex Norris and Prisons Minister Catherine McKinnell do about this cycle of neglect? The first thing is to put action plans onto all of these prisons to change their ways. HMPPS will tell ministers that it will all cost a lot of money – but it’s not about money. It’s about culture, and it is the culture that needs to change. Second, it is essential to reduce overcrowding in reception prisons. We have previously explored how the courts are over-remanding – there needs to be an expansion of carefully risk-managed bail with tagging.

Prisons rated ‘of serious concern’ 

• Bedford
• Birmingham
• Brixton
• Feltham B
• Garth
• Isle of Wight
• Lowdham Grange
• Nottingham
• Pentonville
• Swaleside
• Wandsworth
• Winchester
• Woodhill
• Wormwood Scrubs

Top veteran officers from better prisons should be sent in to help make the change by teaching, even retraining, staff at the failing prisons. Time out of cell requirements should be mandated. So too should purposeful activity, education and resettlement. The fact that Cat B remand prisons see a high churn cannot continue to be an excuse to leave people to rot.

The prison league tables are not a cause for celebration. They are a cause for renewed concern. Mr Norris and Ms McKinnell have a huge opportunity to improve the bottom 10 per cent of prisons. HMPPS have allowed this situation to fester for far too long. The new ministers should act now to make the change.

What I saw

While I was at HMP Wandsworth, prisoners were kept in their cells for 23 hours a day. One night, the prisoner in the cell next to mine committed suicide. This led me to train to become a Listener and I spent many long hours in the dead of night with prisoners who were down, depressed and had lost all hope. Violence was endemic, while the drug Spice was widely available – you could tell who had become addicted from their eyes. This is not how prisons should be.