Recommendation R3: Prison service reform process
From The Billy Wright Inquiry Report, published 14 September 2010.
Recommendation
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.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended considering a Patten-style reform process for prison management and industrial relations. In November 2010, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson relayed that Justice Minister David Ford advised that an independent review of prison conditions, management, and oversight "fulfils the panel's third recommendation" (Owen Paterson, Nov 2010). He also reported that senior management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service was pursuing an efficiency programme in consultation with staff associations (Owen Paterson, Nov 2010). In the same month, the service stated that an independent review team led by Dame Anne Owers would consider the recommendation and report the following spring (Northern Ireland Prison Service, Nov 2010).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
There are three recommendations in the panel’s report. They cover the retention of prison records, whether any relevant lessons can be learnt for HMP Maghaberry, and whether a process similar to the Patten reforms of the RUC should be established for the Northern Ireland Prison Service. As the House is aware, prisons in Northern Ireland are now in the main a devolved matter. I will meet Justice Minister David Ford on Monday to discuss these recommendations.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland named the three recommendations together, in one passage of his statement to the House of Commons on 14 September 2010, and said he would discuss them with the Justice Minister because prisons in Northern Ireland are in the main a devolved matter. That passage is shown on each recommendation and takes no position on any of them. The joint response of the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office, with its annexes, was placed in the libraries of the House of Commons and the Assembly on 4 November 2010 and has not been published online. The Secretary of State's written statement and the Prison Service's press release of that day give an account of each recommendation and are shown as status updates.
Delivery
Northern Ireland Executive says in progress (4 November 2010)
In relation to recommendation three which asked for consideration of a ‘Patten style’ process within NIPS, Justice Minister David Ford announced on 21 June a ‘Review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of all Prisons.’ The review team, which is being led being led by Dame Anne Owers, will report next spring and will take account of this recommendation as part of their deliberations.
From: Government publishes response to Wright Inquiry Team recommendations
Site note: These are the words of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, an agency of the Department of Justice, from its press release of 4 November 2010 (Internet Archive capture of the old Department of Justice site). The site holds no record for the Prison Service or the Department, so the row is filed under the Northern Ireland Executive. The release summarises the joint Department of Justice and Northern Ireland Office response, which was placed in the libraries of the Assembly and the House of Commons and is not online.
Northern Ireland Office says completed (4 November 2010)
The third recommendation invites the Justice Minister to consider whether a process similar to the Patten Commission on policing for Northern Ireland might pave the way for radical change in the way NIPS is managed and how its industrial relations are conducted. I am informed by the Justice Minister that his statement to the Assembly on 21 June 2010—the text of which can be found at annex D of the documentation placed in the Library of the House—relating to a fundamental review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of all prisons, carried out by an independent team, fulfils the panel’s third recommendation. The Justice Minister also advises me that a strategic efficiency and effectiveness programme is being taken forward by the senior management of NIPS in consultation with the three staff associations. Annex E of the documentation placed in the Library of the House summarises the remit of this programme.
From: Billy Wright Inquiry, Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Site note: The Secretary of State's written statement summarises the joint Department of Justice and Northern Ireland Office response placed in the Library of the House that day. The annexes it refers to are not online.
Responsible bodies
Who has spoken
- Northern Ireland Office
Response, delivery statement - Northern Ireland Executive
Delivery statement