The head of the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) has warned the Prison Service about a crisis of excessive heat in many prisons. Jane Leech, the boards’ interim national Chair, set out her concerns in a letter.
Ms Leech visited HMPs Erlestoke, Wandsworth, Pentonville, Bullingdon and Whitemoor herself. With temperatures reaching 36°C, she found that being unable to open a window, change bedding or even get cold water is unbearable.
She also pointed to inconsistent practice between jails. Local IMBs have reported that some prisons charge prisoners for fans, while others provide them free.
Ms Leech said she wanted to record the boards’ concerns about how the heat affects prisoners and staff. In many prisons, she wrote, people already live and work in difficult conditions, which become intolerable in periods of high heat.
She continued: “Older prisoners, those with health conditions, prisoners with disabilities, and those otherwise vulnerable are particularly exposed.”
Upper floors suffer most, she said, and poor ventilation makes matters worse. Limited access to fresh, cold water adds to the problem. That applies especially to people in cells without in-cell sanitation. She also raised the lack of shade in outdoor areas.
Sarah Coccia replied on behalf of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), where she is Chief Operating Officer Prisons. She said every prison must keep plans for hot weather and business continuity. Each must also consider a range of measures to reduce the risks.
Those measures include adequate access to drinking water, monitoring indoor temperatures, better ventilation and promoting hydration. Prisons should also provide access to sun cream and share health information with prisoners and staff. She said further controls may involve changes to outdoor activities.
According to Ms Coccia, the guidance encourages governors to take practical steps against high temperatures. Options include extra drinking water and access to shade. Governors can also use fire-retardant curtains or blinds, adjust ventilation and review activities during extreme heat.
Prisoners have no national right to an electric fan in their cell. Even so, governors should consider fans and other portable cooling devices where appropriate, according to the guidance. That includes giving handheld fans to medically vulnerable prisoners and to people sharing double cells.
Ms Coccia said the guidance places weight on identifying and supporting the most vulnerable. She accepted that no national policy requires prisons to supply free fans. Nor is there a nationally prescribed approach to charging for them. Fans do not appear on the prison canteen list, but prisoners may buy them through approved catalogues.
The guidance recognises that some areas overheat more readily than others, and it advises prisons to monitor temperatures.
Ms Coccia said the MoJ is taking a climate adaptation approach based on scientific evidence. It aims to make prison buildings and operations more resilient and keep services running in extreme weather. It also seeks to protect the health, safety and welfare of prisoners and staff more effectively.
In many prisons, people are living and working in conditions that are already difficult, and that become intolerable during periods of high heat.
Jane Leech, interim national Chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards
