HMP Liverpool

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 22nd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

This report results from what was described by Her Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons as one of the worst inspection reports of a prison that he had ever seen. It was certainly the worst inspection report that our Committee had ever seen, and because of the gravity of the situation, we took the unique step of holding a specific evidence session on that individual inquiry. It highlighted conditions at Liverpool prison that the chief inspector described as “squalid”, a history of deterioration over a two-year period, and a history of management failure at local, national and regional level over time. It also highlighted a number of systemic problems that we believe need to be addressed by the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, and the need for approaching afresh the way in which we deal with Her Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons itself.

I pay tribute to my Committee colleagues, a number of whom are present today, for their work on this report, and I also welcome the Minister to his place. I particularly appreciated that he came to give evidence to our inquiry so early on after being appointed to the post in which he now serves.

I will briefly give an outline of the report against that grave background. Liverpool prison was inspected in 2015, and it was failing then. It was re-inspected in 2017, and it had got worse. Some of the conditions—a man with mental health problems was in a cell that was not fit for habitation; there was a serious maintenance backlog, which had doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 over that period; and the prison’s markings against various tests had gone backwards—indicate that there was not only a gross failure of management locally and of regional and national oversight, but that the detailed recommendations of Her Majesty’s inspectorate that were made in 2015 had not properly been addressed. That is the first systemic matter that we deal with.

It is pretty clear that the national leadership was not alert to the situation on the ground. The head of the Prison Service, Mr Spurr, told us that he had been informed by the local management that some 60% of the recommendations in 2015 were on track to be met. That was wrong. In fact, only 25% or so were met, and 60% were not met. The leadership nationally was out of touch. What was the role of the deputy director of corrections, who is supposed to have oversight of 12 prisons in that region? Clearly, there was not just a failure of communication, but a breakdown in how the system operates there.

This is not unique. Her Majesty’s chief inspectorate indicated to us that it is a regular occurrence for its recommendations not to be acted on. The Minister rightly said to us that much greater use should be made of the inspectorate’s recommendations to drive changes in behaviour. He is right. We recommend therefore two specific matters to effect that.

First, at the moment, the Prison Service marks its own homework. That is not satisfactory and it can breed complacency. We therefore recommend that HM inspectorate of prisons be given additional resource so that it can follow up on the implementation of its recommendations and hold the prisons to account. This is not a large sum in the overall scheme of things; perhaps one inspection team would be sufficient to do that task and probably the overall saving would mean that that would be offset. Secondly, Ministers should take personal responsibility for seeing that inspections reports are acted on and should account to the House for that, perhaps through a letter to the Justice Committee. That is the first of our practical recommendations, which we believe would offer a way forward.

There is also the whole question of the oversight itself. Given that there were these failings, we believe that greater work should be done to ensure the transparency and accountability of the above-establishment teams in the Department. There was also a clear problem with the facilities management contract. Not only had the backlog got worse, but it is pretty clear that basic issues that should have been picked up in the contract were not. The fact that there were rat and cockroach infestations shows the level of the problem. We are not satisfied with the explanations we were given for the failures in that contract and we therefore believe that there is a need for greater transparency, so we recommend that major contracts—this is a national contract with Amey—should be subject to a public framework outlining the expectations, performance and penalties levied against a provider for failure. If there are penalties, there should be a system of naming and shaming, frankly. There should be a public notification of where failures occur and how much of a penalty is levied against the provider as a percentage of the contract. That is the whole point of outsourcing—to drive changes in behaviour—but we need transparency and openness to do that.

We also noted that part of the problem derives from persistent overcrowding. Liverpool prison was not understaffed—it was up to establishment—but it was nevertheless pressed for numbers. We therefore recommend that the Ministry and the Prison Service publish a plan to resolve the persistent overcrowding of the estate to take some of the pressure off governors. The new governor at Liverpool is clearly doing a very good job under difficult circumstances, but we need an overall plan to deal with overcrowding and that must aim to reduce the prison population and/or increase safe and decent capacity. We cannot have it both ways.

We were also concerned about the poor situation with healthcare that was discovered. We were glad to see commitments from the Prison Service and NHS England to publish a partnership agreement on how they are working together. However, the last partnership agreement expired in April 2017 and the new one will not be in place until 2018. The gap of a year is not satisfactory in that regard and we need steps to be taken to ensure that that does not happen again.

Finally, we need a commitment to ensuring that there is decent healthcare. It was explained to us that the overcrowding and the nature of the regime meant frequently that prisoners could not be brought from their cells to healthcare appointments. We need a much more joined-up approach to that.

Those are the principal recommendations of our report, which I commend to the House. At the end of the day, the decency of a society is judged by how it treats those who offend against it as much as by how it treats those who do well by it. Liverpool failed in that regard. We did not house prisoners in the decent conditions that common humanity and our international and domestic legal obligations order that we should. That failure cannot be allowed to happen again. Making greater use of the inspectorate and its tools and adopting our recommendations will, I hope, be a constructive way forward in assisting the Minister in what I entirely believe is his intention to get back to getting the basics right and improving the Prison Service. It is in that spirit that we put the report before the House and commend it to the Minister.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

I welcome the Committee’s report and thank the Chair for his quick decision to hold an evidence session specifically on HMP Liverpool following the publication of the original inspectorate report. I further welcome his commitment, as stated here, to hold the Government to account when prisons fail. We have lost another life inside the prison this week. Anthony Paine, 35, who suffered with mental health problems, was found in his cell and died in hospital on Monday.

The report does not mention in detail the failure to invest in infrastructure and renovate wings or the loss and replacement of experienced prison officers and, critically, resources. Having seen the prison with my own eyes, I have no doubt that these are basic but expensive requirements, but in a written answer to me the Minister says that there is no plan to publish the costs or programme of urgent works at HMP Liverpool. Does the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) agree that it is vital that we have transparency across our prison network and the improvements that are necessary if we are to see real change?

[Robert Neill]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I know that he knows Liverpool Walton jail, as it is often called locally, very well. I entirely understand the point of his remarks and I hope that the Ministry will reflect on that. The whole thrust of our report is that we need to shine the light of transparency and publicity on these matters. We also, in a separate piece of work, have in hand an inquiry into the shape of the prison population by 2020. Part of that, again, is this need to deal with overcrowding. Our recommendation on persistent overcrowding is part of that. Getting the fabric right is necessary. Walton jail—Liverpool prison—is one of the old Victorian prisons and there is a real need for work to be done there. If we are publishing the public framework on facilities maintenance, I do not see why we should not be able to have similar publicity about the capital works that are required.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Carden Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

This is a big question of management. There are many very hard-working people at Liverpool prison who take their jobs very seriously and work very long hours, but we have to balance that with a recognition that clearly there have been fundamental failings. People will be held to account. Above all, we need to work with the team at the prison to ensure that in future it is a clean and decent place, both to protect the public and to reduce reoffending.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s prompt visit to HMP Liverpool in his new role, and to Altcourse prison, which is in my constituency. His action plan states that there will be a full conditional survey and investment proposal for medium-term refurbishment. Given that Walton prison was built in 1855—some 15 years before this Palace was completed—is that the most realistic outcome for the future of the prison?

[Rory Stewart]

It is certainly true that there are challenges with older buildings, as we see with this place, but it is possible to keep them going—Westminster Hall was built in 1080. Stafford prison, which was built in the late 18th century, is a clean and decent prison. We will look carefully at the fabric, and in some cases there is reason to build a new wing. But in Liverpool prison we can make a huge difference simply with £2.5 million for new windows and for refurbishing individual cells.

Mental Health in Prisons

Dan Carden Excerpts

Wednesday 10th January 2018 Westminster Hall

[Imran Hussain]

That is a shocking account. Again, that highlights some of the underlying issues in our prison services that could perhaps be dealt with a lot better.

Hon. Members will forgive me if I am unable to cover all the contributions that have been made today, but I know that the Minister, to be fair to him, does listen and will respond. My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) rightly pointed out that the Minister is the last man standing, and perhaps the oldest hand now in the Ministry of Justice. I am sure that he will use his skills to persuade the new Secretary of State that we do have a crisis in our prison service, but I will leave that to him.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

I will be quick. Liverpool prison is perhaps in some of the most dire straits of all prisons in this country, as has been mentioned by my colleagues. The Secretary of State for Justice said on 18 December that an action plan would be forthcoming in January. Can I plead with the Minister that that is not forgotten in the midst of the reshuffle, and ask him perhaps to write to me or let me know in today’s debate when that action plan will be forthcoming?

[Imran Hussain]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Obviously, it is an issue that is very close to him, as it relates to his constituency, but it is also of concern to us all, and I hope that the Minister will listen and respond.

As recognition of mental illness in society increases, with a greater understanding of just how damaging it can be, so it does in prison. However, prisoners have a much greater likelihood of suffering from mental illness than the general populace, with one in three prisoners estimated to be suffering from mental illness.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Carden Excerpts

Tuesday 5th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The reality of life in our prisons is one of inexperienced prison officers dealing with more violent and dangerous situations on a daily basis, and that is a direct result of this Government’s cutting 7,000 prison officers. They have now slammed that into reverse to recruit 2,500 officers, as has been announced today. There are prison officers in the Gallery today who are visiting on a lobby with the Prison Officers Association. Will he agree to meet them to discuss prison officer safety?

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend the Prisons Minister and I meet representatives of the Prison Officers Association both at national level and whenever we go to visit prisons, where we make a point of talking directly to staff and listening to their concerns. I believe that, as well as recruiting additional officers as promised, we need to ensure that anybody who attacks a prison officer is properly prosecuted, where there is good evidence available. That is what ought to happen, and I hope that the police and the Crown Prosecution Service will work with us to ensure that we get those outcomes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Carden Excerpts

Tuesday 31st October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

It is difficult to tell exactly what proportion was brought in by drones. We do not know how many drones are successful; we know only those that are unsuccessful. We know that drones are a very serious and emerging threat because of the load they can carry into our prisons. Dealing with drugs in prisons is not just about our counter-drone strategy, but the overall illicit economy in prisons as a whole: mobile phones, which help to facilitate it; cracking down on corruption, where it exists, in the supply chain; and working with law enforcement. There is no single way to deal with it; we are going to do all those things across the piece to crack down.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

11. What assessment he has made of the effect of overcrowding and staff numbers on recent serious disturbances in prisons.

[Mr Gyimah]

I have seen a number of incidents in prisons. Every incident in any prison has its own unique situation, which is why we always investigate incidents in prisons very thoroughly. Obviously, we hold some of the most challenging individuals in society in our prisons, so incidents do sometimes occur. Our job is to minimise the risk and manage those incidents when they happen.

[Dan Carden]

The chief inspector of prisons has said that staffing levels are simply too low for a decent regime to be run. We need prison officers on the frontline, not filling in for cuts elsewhere. Under this Government, we have lost 6,000 prison officers. Will the Minister take some of the responsibility for the crisis in prisons such as the one in Walton?

[Mr Gyimah]

Obviously, I take a keen interest in the hon. Gentleman’s local prison, where the staff complement is exactly as it should be. It is one of the 10 pathfinder prisons in which we are implementing the new offender management model. I discussed the staffing situation there with the new national chair of the Prison Officers Association, and he commended the fact that staff numbers there are at full strength, but that does not mean that there is not more to do across the estate. We are halfway to our target of 2,500, and I am confident that we will achieve that.