28/05/2003

Regime at UK’s largest prison ‘unacceptable’

Overcrowding and poor industrial relations at the UK’s largest prison have led to an "unacceptable regime" at Liverpool prison.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers, said that the prison was “seriously under-performing”. Parts of the jail were said to be in “poor condition”, with dirty toilets and infestations of cockroaches.

The report found that conditions in the induction wing were particularly poor with standards of hygiene and cleanliness below acceptable levels. The Chief Inspector described the regime at Liverpool as “not delivering” when it came to the care of its prisoners.

The prison holds 1,500 inmates, some of whom are remand prisoners. Many prisoners share single cells where the toilet facility is shared.

Despite around 95% of the inmates having a poor standard of general education, less than one in five have access to education resources in the prison.

Ms Owers report noted that poor industrial relations had added to the “regime deficiencies”. Prisoners were found to have little time to associate with other prisoners, showered once a week, and lacked clean bedding.

Prison Service Director-General Phil Wheatley said that Liverpool had been selected for the performance review as it was one of the prisons identified as “under-performing”.

Elsewhere, Home Secretary David Blunkett has announced that he is to put in place legislation that will remove the legal ban on prison officers taking industrial action.

(SP)

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