Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison estate

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 244 11 September 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 36 items (6 recs)
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Government Response (AI assessment · 35 of 36 classified)
Accepted 18
Acknowledged 1
Not Addressed 16
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifteenth report from Session 2019-21 · published 18 Nov 2020
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Recommendations & Conclusions

17 results
6 Recommendation Not Addressed
The Ministry is still reeling from the long-term consequences of its unrealistic 2015 Spending Review...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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.
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1 Conclusion Not Addressed
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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.
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10 Conclusion Not Addressed
Research commissioned by HMPPS found that the prison environment, including the condition of accommodation, played...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
We asked HMPPS why it tolerated such unacceptable levels of prisoner assaults on staff and...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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.
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12 Conclusion Not Addressed
Against a backdrop of worsening living conditions for prisoners, HMPPS changed the way in which...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
We last examined the Ministry’s progress in outsourcing its probation services in May 2019.
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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14 Conclusion Not Addressed
We asked the Ministry why it kept making the same mistakes when it came to...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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15 Conclusion Not Addressed
Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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17 Conclusion Not Addressed
We asked the Ministry what percentage of those in prison were women and how many...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is an exact copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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18 Conclusion Not Addressed
As a result of our questioning, we were concerned that the female prison estate was...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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.
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19 Conclusion Not Addressed
One of the largest women’s prisons, HMP Holloway in London, was closed in 2016.
Conclusion
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 Summary
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.
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20 Conclusion Not Addressed
We acknowledged that the female prison estate was a small part of the overall prison...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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21 Conclusion Not Addressed
In its written evidence, De Montfort University told us that ‘softer’ services such as contact...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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22 Conclusion Not Addressed
We also received written evidence from the Prison Reform Trust, which told us that women...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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23 Conclusion Not Addressed
Rising demand for prison places, places being taken out of use and delays in building...
Conclusion
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 Summary
The government response is a truncated copy of the committee's conclusion and does not provide a substantive response.
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29 Conclusion
Both the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and the Prison Reform Trust...
Conclusion
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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