An inquest jury found that the death of a life-sentence prisoner at HMP Frankland was drug-related, and the coroner has urged the prison to apply its visits policy more consistently.
Work is set to begin on a 1,700-place category C prison next to HMP Garth and HMP Wymott, while Serco has secured two more years running HMP Doncaster.
A Ministry of Justice review of international research links low staffing, poor staff attitudes and perceived unfairness to higher levels of violence in prisons.
Paul Newton told staff the prison is not yet where it wants to be, after its Independent Monitoring Board described a chaotic first year at the Mitie-run jail.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman found that Johnpaul Digweed belonged to a group making hundreds of thousands of pounds from drone drops of contraband into the Lancashire jail.
About 700 prisoners in England and Wales will leave jail early on 1 October, with an estimated 4,500 released in phases up to June 2027 under the Government's revised scheme.
A male officer at HMP Styal who met a woman at a hotel the day after she left the prison has received a suspended sentence for misconduct in a public office.
A charity-run bakery at HMP Northumberland has moved into a disused prison kitchen, tripling the number of men it can train from 10 to 30.
The Chief Inspector of Probation said he was not fully confident probation could cope, while the Chief Inspector of Prisons called the system very fragile.
A prison officer who received more than £12,000 for bringing contraband into HMP Gartree has been jailed after admitting misconduct in a public office and conspiracy offences.
