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Prisons Chief Inspector can now directly alert Justice
Secretary where serious failings are found in
establishments.
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Justice Secretary will publish his response and a plan
of action within 28 days of the report being received.
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The urgent notification process is part of a package
aimed at improving the safety of people in prisons.
A new process introduced by the Secretary of State, , will mean that prisons
that require urgent attention will have 28 days to introduce
tough measures that will drive improvement.
From today, and for the first-time, the Secretary of State will
be directly alerted by the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP)
if an urgent issue needs addressing to ensure that
recommendations are acted upon immediately.
A team of specialists will be brought together to ensure
immediate action is taken, along with a more in-depth plan to
ensure we see sustained improvement for the prison in the long
term.
This team, who are accountable to Ministers, will have 28 days to
set out what steps the prison and department are taking to
improve safety and bring the prison up to the required
standard.
Secretary of State, said:
“Openness and transparency are powerful instruments of change and
I believe we should be accountable so the public can see exactly
what we are doing to turn prisons into safe places where
offenders can change their lives.
“A team of specialists will now respond when HMIP trigger
Urgent Notification to urgently drive improvements and ensure
that prisons are safe, secure and providing a regular regime.
“To implement these actions plans and improve safety, the
recruitment of an additional 2,500 prison officers is key and we
are already halfway towards reaching that target.”
This process forms part of the broader work of the Secretary of
State to enhance our responses to external scrutiny.
Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:
“I welcome the new ‘Urgent Notification’ protocol which the
Secretary of State for Justice has signed and which will now play
a key role in the work of HM Inspectorate of Prisons to inspect
the treatment and conditions for many thousands of prisoners and
other detainees held in custody.
“In particular, I welcome the principle of transparency and
accountability underlying this new protocol. The Secretary of
State has accepted that he and his successors will be held
publicly accountable for delivering an urgent, robust and
effective response when HMIP assesses that treatment or
conditions in a jail raise such significant concerns that urgent
action is required.”
Senior officials in HMPPS and MoJ will be directly
involved in the work to ensure immediate action is taken,
along with a more in-depth plan to ensure we see sustained
improvement for the prison in the long term.
Notes to editors:
- Urgent notification is a new process where the Chief
Inspector of Prisons can inform the Secretary of State of any
urgent and severe prison problems found on an inspection.
- The Secretary of State will have 28 days to publicly report
on action taken to resolve issues raised by HMIP.
- The response at the 28 day point will focus on urgent and
severe issues.
- There will be a longer-term plan to support sustained
improvement.
- There are already taking a number of steps being taken to
improve safety in the prison estate, including an investment of
£100m to boost the front line by 2,500 additional prison
officers.
- We are also investing to make sure our dedicated officers
have the tools they need, including £2million for body-worn
cameras.
