Improving the prison estate

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 4 Jun 2020 Closed: 2 Dec 2020 Parliament page
In the 2015 Spending Review the Government committed £1.3bn in to provide up to 10,000 prison places as part of the Prison Estate Transformation Programme (PETP), to be partially funded from the sale of prisons. The Ministry of Justice contracted out facilities management of prisons to private companies Amey and … Read more
6 Recommendations
30 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
14 May
2021
Correspondence
30 Apr
2021
Correspondence
11 Feb
2021
Correspondence
18 Nov
2020
Report published
11 Sep
2020
Report published
29 Jun
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
29 Jun 2020
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Improving the prison estate
Clive Beard · Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Dr Jo Farrar · Ministry of Justice Sir Richard Heaton · Ministry of Justice
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison estate HC 244 11 Sep 2020 36 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
Clear
6 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
The Ministry is still reeling from the long-term consequences of its unrealistic 2015 Spending Review...
The Ministry is still reeling from the long-term consequences of its unrealistic 2015 Spending Review settlement, and bears the financial and human cost of sustained underinvestment. The Ministry admits that its 2015 Spending Review settlement was over-optimistic and fundamentally unbalanced. … Read more
Government Response
The government's response consisted of boilerplate text about the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme and a list of historical Treasury Minute responses, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding the Ministry's 2015 Spending Review lessons and 2020 Spending Review preparations.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service on improving the prison estate.1
Government Response
The government response discussed NHS resilience, social care, supply chains, Test and Trace, and vaccines, none of which were related to the committee's observation about taking evidence on the prison estate.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
Research commissioned by HMPPS found that the prison environment, including the condition of accommodation, played...
Research commissioned by HMPPS found that the prison environment, including the condition of accommodation, played a role in how prisoners behave.20 Between 2015 and 2018, among adult prisoners, key indicators of poor safety in prisons reached all- time highs. This … Read more
Government Response
The government response merely restated the committee's observation about the link between prison environment and prisoner behavior, and statistics on assaults, self-harm, and deaths, without adding any new information or committing to action.
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11 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We asked HMPPS why it tolerated such unacceptable levels of prisoner assaults on staff and...
We asked HMPPS why it tolerated such unacceptable levels of prisoner assaults on staff and what it was doing to reduce levels of assaults on staff and self-inflicted deaths. HMPPS asserted that it was very concerned by the number of … Read more
Government Response
The government response merely reiterates the committee's summary of HMPPS's existing assurances regarding efforts to reduce prisoner assaults on staff and self-inflicted deaths, without providing any new information or further government position.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
Against a backdrop of worsening living conditions for prisoners, HMPPS changed the way in which...
Against a backdrop of worsening living conditions for prisoners, HMPPS changed the way in which it maintains prisons and launched a programme to improve the condition and suitability of prison accommodation. In 2015 it contracted Amey and Carillion to provide … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We last examined the Ministry’s progress in outsourcing its probation services in May 2019.
We last examined the Ministry’s progress in outsourcing its probation services in May 2019. We concluded that in its haste to rush through its reforms, the Ministry of Justice had not only failed to deliver its ‘rehabilitation revolution’ but left … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We asked the Ministry why it kept making the same mistakes when it came to...
We asked the Ministry why it kept making the same mistakes when it came to contracting out services and how it would avoid these in future. The Ministry told us that it would no longer let contracts using the approach … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a...
Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a not-for-profit government company, to assume responsibility for its work.29 The Ministry told us that its contract with Carillion was “a mess” and badly managed.30 It … Read more
Government Response
The government response was a direct copy of the committee's conclusion, reiterating the description of events and the Ministry's statements about its commercial function, without providing any additional information or a government stance.
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16 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the...
One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the contracts was that demand for reactive maintenance work as a result of poor-quality assets or vandalism cost the taxpayer almost £143 million more than expected … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We asked the Ministry what percentage of those in prison were women and how many...
We asked the Ministry what percentage of those in prison were women and how many prisons in England and Wales held female offenders. The Ministry accepted that these were numbers that it could reasonably be expected to know, but it … Read more
Government Response
The government response is an exact copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
As a result of our questioning, we were concerned that the female prison estate was...
As a result of our questioning, we were concerned that the female prison estate was a Cinderella service within the prison system. HMPPS removed plans to build new places for female prisoners from the Prison Estate Transformation Programme, as its … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a verbatim copy of the committee's text, including its concerns and questions, and does not provide an actual substantive reply or engagement with the issues raised.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
One of the largest women’s prisons, HMP Holloway in London, was closed in 2016.
One of the largest women’s prisons, HMP Holloway in London, was closed in 2016. HMPPS sold the prison in March 2019 and generated £81.5 million from the proceeds.41 We were concerned that such a large amount of money had come … Read more
Government Response
The government response merely reiterates the committee's concern about the reinvestment of HMP Holloway sale proceeds into the female prison estate, without providing any new information, clarification, or commitment.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We acknowledged that the female prison estate was a small part of the overall prison...
We acknowledged that the female prison estate was a small part of the overall prison estate, but asked whether the Ministry thought it was nonetheless important to ensure that some of its reinvestment benefitted women prisoners to avoid them becoming … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
In its written evidence, De Montfort University told us that ‘softer’ services such as contact...
In its written evidence, De Montfort University told us that ‘softer’ services such as contact with family, education, work based training, peer support and therapy were of huge importance in the rehabilitation of prisoners. It also told us that therapeutic … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
We also received written evidence from the Prison Reform Trust, which told us that women...
We also received written evidence from the Prison Reform Trust, which told us that women continue to serve their sentences largely in prisons designed for men and in locations far from home.48 We were therefore concerned that there were no … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
Rising demand for prison places, places being taken out of use and delays in building...
Rising demand for prison places, places being taken out of use and delays in building new prisons have put significant pressure on the capacity of the prison estate. At December 2019, the prison population had reached 98% of the usable … Read more
Government Response
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
HM Treasury
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29 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Improving the p…
Both the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and the Prison Reform Trust...
Both the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and the Prison Reform Trust told us that while the worst-case scenario for deaths from the pandemic had been avoided, the cost to the mental health of prisoners was certain … Read more
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Government Response AI assessment · 35 of 6 classified
Accepted 18
Acknowledged 1
Not Addressed 16
Total 6 recs + 30 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
14 May 2021 Correspondence from Dr Jo Farrar, Chief Executive, HM Prison & Probation Service, re Update response to PAC 15th Report of Session 2019-2021: Improving the prison estate, dated 30 April 2021
Parliament page
30 Apr 2021 Correspondence from Dr Jo Farrar, Chief Executive, HM Prison & Probation Service, re Updated repose to the Public Accounts Committees 15th Report Session 2019-2021: Improving the prison estate, dated 5 February 2021
Parliament page
11 Feb 2021 Correspondence from Dr Jo Farrar, Chief Executive, HM Prison & Probation Service, re COVID-19 and the Prison Estate, dated 09 February 2021
Parliament page