Asked by Lord Beecham To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and
if so when, they will publish the recent report by the Chief
Inspector of Prisons on Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool; and what
steps they are taking to address the problems identified in that
report in order to prevent serious harm to prisoners....Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so when,
they will publish the recent report by the Chief
Inspector of Prisons on Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool;
and what steps they are taking to address the problems
identified in that report in order to prevent serious
harm to prisoners.
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My Lords, the inspection report on Her Majesty’s Prison
Liverpool will be published on 19 January 2018. A
comprehensive action plan is being developed that will
urgently address the inspector’s recommendations.
Immediate action taken at Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool
since the inspection includes the appointment of a new
governor, a review of prisoner accommodation to
facilitate refurbishment and urgent work with the
contractor to deal with the backlog of repairs.
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My Lords, the situation in Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool
is the latest manifestation of the crisis in our prisons.
It is a shameful litany of squalor, sickness and
apparently even death. Instead of initially refusing to
comment on the chief inspector’s leaked report, the
Government should already have published it, together
with their response. Will they in particular examine the
apparent failure of contractors over a long period to
carry out major repair work in a way that did not
threaten the well-being of inmates and staff? In
addition, will they review the performance, in Liverpool
and elsewhere, of an overstretched and underfunded NHS in
protecting the health and well-being of our prison
population?
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My Lords, very troubling matters were raised by the
report, but I am not going to comment on the contents of
a leaked report. What I can say is that the inspector
debriefed the Prison Service immediately after and we
have responded to that. Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool
was originally a Victorian prison, and there are indeed
real issues with the standard of cell accommodation. It
is worth noting that no expenditure—not one pound—has
been spent on cell accommodation at Liverpool since 1994.
In the intervening period, there was a Labour Government
from 1997 to 2010.
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My Lords, is not one of the most disturbing aspects of
this troubling report the failure to respond to the
mental health needs of inmates? Given the reported
suicides or deaths of perhaps as many as three prisoners
in recent weeks, and the absence of secondary screening,
is not this a national requirement? How do these squalid
conditions, in a prison overrun with rats and
cockroaches, meet Churchill’s famous dictum that the
treatment of criminals is,
“one of the most unfailing tests of a civilisation of any
country”?
How does it encourage fundamental reform of those we have
incarcerated?
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My Lords, where the courts impose a custodial sentence,
the punishment is deprivation of liberty. But where
someone is kept in custody, the conditions should be
decent, safe and secure. We accept that as a Government.
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The MoJ may say that it does not comment on leaked
reports and the Minister has repeated that, but there is
no doubting the authenticity or content of this one. The
prison was the worst that inspectors have seen, with
prisoners spending 22 hours a day in filthy,
vermin-infested cells with exposed electrical wiring and
blocked and leaking lavatories. Within weeks of
inspection, two inmates killed themselves. Yes, the
governor has been sacked, but that is not enough. Will
the MoJ please now act urgently to establish a crisis
task force to work with the inspectorate’s
recommendations, there and elsewhere, to turn around the
dreadful conditions in our failing prisons?
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My Lords, we have replaced not only the governor but the
deputy governor and the head of healthcare at the prison
itself. We intend to establish a new unit in the Prison
Service to enhance our response to the inspector’s
recommendations, which will involve monitoring and
auditing progress on the recommendations. This will
commence in January 2018. In addition, on 30 November we
announced the introduction of an urgent notification
process. Unfortunately, the report took place in
September and therefore did not trigger that notification
process. Under that process, the inspector can go
directly to the Secretary of State for Justice in cases
where urgent reform is required, and the Secretary of
State will undertake to respond publicly within 28 days
of such notification.
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My Lords, the noble and learned Lord practises
insouciance in response to these questions, particularly
in saying that he cannot comment on a leaked report.
Perhaps he could comment on last month’s report of the
Chief Inspector of Prisons, which highlighted conditions
in youth offender institutions. It said that it was
routine for young boys to be confined to their cells for
more than 22 hours a day and that in 40% of the youth
offender institutions inspected, education and medical
visits had to be cancelled. That was certainly my
experience a year or so earlier when I was reviewing the
conditions in prisons. Is not the real problem the
continued understaffing of our prisons and the failure,
therefore, to provide the care that common humanity
suggests is necessary for those in the care of the state
as prisoners?
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We are all concerned to ensure that where persons are
placed in custody, whether youth custody or otherwise,
their conditions should be decent, safe and secure and
that they should have the opportunity for rehabilitation.
We have taken steps over the past year or so to increase
quite considerably the number of prison officers employed
in our prisons. The goal is 2,500 prison officers and we
are on course to achieve it.
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My Lords, one of the most shocking sentences in the Chief
Inspector’s introduction to this report, which is a
shocking indictment of the way prisons are run, reads:
“We saw clear evidence that local prison managers had
sought help from regional and national management to
improve conditions they knew to be unacceptable long
before our arrival, but had met with little response”.
Will the Minister please tell the House who in Prison
Service headquarters is responsible and accountable for
the oversight of Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool and how
that oversight is exercised?
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My Lords, I am not going to name individuals—
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I am sorry—I was concerned that the noble Lord had become
unwell. I will not name individuals; it would most
invidious to do so. The Prison Service is responsible for
the conditions at Her Majesty’s Prison Liverpool. I will
not comment on the terms of a leaked report, but in
response to the briefing, we have already taken 182 cell
spaces out of use immediately to facilitate
refurbishment. We have determined the level of remedial
work required on accommodation and we have instituted an
increased and improved cleaning programme, with robust
management checks.
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