Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that during the working day about half of the prisoners held there were locked in their cells with nothing to do.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The National Offender Management Service has taken immediate action to improve the situation. An experienced temporary Governor was urgently appointed to bring stability and to implement rapid improvements. Subsequently, a new permanent Governor was appointed on 1 February 2015. A review of the staffing levels needed to complete the improvement work required has led to additional staff resources being deployed to the prison. There have been fewer incidents of serious assaults on prisoners and staff, concerted indiscipline and incidents at height since the inspection and there has been a marked improvement in the overall operational stability of the establishment. As with all inspection reports, NOMS will now produce an action plan in response to the recommendations.
Improvements in staffing levels have allowed an increase in the amount of time that prisoners can participate in recreational activities, such as using the gymnasium. It has also enabled prisoners to undertake more educational workshops to enhance employability skills. .
Since the Inspection, HMP Nottingham’s Violence Reduction (VR) Policy has been rewritten and implemented and, in line with the national NOMS VR Policy, requires staff to challenge all forms of violence and apply appropriate sanctions. Additional resources have been allocated to monitoring and managing violence reduction and safer custody. Use of the Independent Adjudicator and/or referral to the Police for consideration of prosecution for violent incidents has increased dramatically. HMP Nottingham continues to challenge all forms of violence and actively promotes a zero tolerance to it. The prison is forging stronger links with the local Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that, where appropriate, prisoners involved in violence are prosecuted.
The operational capacity of HMP Nottingham was reduced, at the time of the inspection, from 1100 to 1060. There are now regular bedding and clothing checks. This helps to recover items that have been stockpiled by prisoners, to ensure fair allocation of clean clothing and bedding. Additional clothes and bedding have also been issued.