Prison service reform process
We have identified a series of failures in the management of the NIPS in 1997. What we learned about the current management of the NIPS in the course of the Inquiry, for example during the document recovery hearings, left us wondering how much has changed in the succeeding years. Bearing in mind that the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland led to the transformation of the RUC into the PSNI, we recommend that the SOSNI and those with recently devolved authority should consider whether a similar process might pave the way for radical change in the way that the NIPS is managed and, among other matters, how its industrial relations are conducted.
How was this assessed?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedSecretary of State Owen Paterson stated on 14 September 2010 that he would discuss all three recommendations with Justice Minister David Ford, as prisons had become a devolved matter. Justice Minister Ford established a Prison Review Team in July 2010 chaired by Dame Anne Owers (former HM Chief Inspector of Prisons), which published its final report with 40 recommendations in October 2011. A Prison Review Oversight Group was established in December 2011 to monitor implementation. The reform programme (SEE - Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness) included voluntary early retirement of over 500 officers, a new Custody Officer grade, new shift patterns, and revised industrial relations procedures. By 2016-17, 90% of the 40 recommendations had been completed or signed off. However, the Committee on the Administration of Justice noted that unlike the Patten Commission for policing (which had 175 recommendations, dedicated legislation, the Police (NI) Act 2000, and substantial funding), the prison review had no new legislation and no equivalent structural reinvention. Subsequent strategies included Prisons 2020 (96% of 282 commitments achieved) and Prisons 25 by 25.
Published Evidence
Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Prison Review Team (Owers Review) established July 2010, conducting comprehensive review similar in scope to the Patten-style commission recommended. Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness (SEE) programme launched to restructure NIPS.
View detailed findings
Dame Anne Owers' review team included senior policing, legal, academic and prison management experts. SEE programme required reduction of approximately 550 prison officers and governors. Exit scheme designed to allow staff to leave with dignity. However, the review was not formally constituted as a Patten-style commission but achieved similar scope of examination.