4th Report - Coronavirus (Covid-19): The impact on prisons

The Covid-19 pandemic poses an urgent threat to public health and safety. It is an unprecedented situation that has required an immediate response by the prison service to protect the NHS and save lives. We praise the Prison Service and … Read more The Covid-19 pandemic poses an urgent threat to public health and safety. It is an unprecedented situation that has required an immediate response by the prison service to protect the NHS and save lives. We praise the Prison Service and wider stakeholders for the vital work they are doing to respond to the pandemic and protect those in their care and the public. (Paragraph 3) Prison Regime Changes Show less

The Committee recognise the necessity of the measures introduced to minimise the spread of the virus and save lives and commend staff and prisoners for adapting to these changes. However, we do not believe that the current regime is sustainable … Read more The Committee recognise the necessity of the measures introduced to minimise the spread of the virus and save lives and commend staff and prisoners for adapting to these changes. However, we do not believe that the current regime is sustainable in the long term and are concerned about the effect this may have on the wellbeing and rehabilitation of individual prisoners. Show less

We recommend, however, that the Government investigate the reasons behind the relatively high level of remand into custody and explain the reasons behind that, particularly given the pressures on the custodial estate during the coronavirus outbreak.