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HMP Doncaster to gain new workshops after inspectors criticise lack of activity
Two portable workshop buildings due by March 2026 will add 80 activity places a session, according to the Prison Service’s response to an inspection report.
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Justice Committee chair says Government response on prison drugs is “not enough”
Ministers have fully accepted eight of the Justice Select Committee’s 29 recommendations on drugs in prisons, rejecting two and partially accepting the other 19.
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Residents fear for former Reading prison as redevelopment plans stall
Two years after its sale, there is still no formal planning application for the jail that held Oscar Wilde, though its owner says progress is under way.
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Internet has undermined spent convictions, says Unlock
The charity for people with criminal records says online searches and artificial intelligence threaten the protections of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and sets out seven reforms.
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Norwich monitors say assaults on prison staff are handled less seriously than on police
The Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Norwich says not every assault on staff leads to further action, while police pursue most attacks on their own officers.
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MPs criticise prison service over £4m-a-year lease on empty HMP Dartmoor
The Public Accounts Committee says HMPPS wasted taxpayers’ money by signing a new lease for the radon-affected prison, which it cannot leave until at least 2033.
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Scottish prisons under severe strain, Holyrood committee warns
MSPs point to overcrowding, drugs, gang feuds and budget pressures, as new figures show six Scottish prisons holding more people than their maximum tolerated capacity.
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Security review ordered at HMP Leyhill after three men abscond on New Year’s Day
The Government has announced a review of security at the open prison after three prisoners went missing, prompting a police manhunt and questions in Parliament.
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Monitoring boards report deep cuts to prison education budgets across England and Wales
The outgoing head of the Independent Monitoring Boards has accused the Government of “swingeing cuts in prison education”. The Ministry of Justice insists the overall budget has not fallen.
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HMP Featherstone: progress stalls as inspectors rate all four areas not sufficiently good
Inspectors found drugs readily available, worn-out house units and too few chances for men to show they had reduced their risk at the Wolverhampton prison. Safety slipped a grade since 2022.