Private v state: The UK's best and worst prisons
Monday 20 August 2018 18:30, UK
Since the 1990s, prisons across Britain have been turned over into the hands of private firms, which run them at a profit.
Rather than "governors", privately-run prisons have "directors" in charge. But the prisons must still face unannounced inspections by HM Prisons Inspectorate and receive recommendations based on the observations made.
The situation at the privately-run Birmingham Prison became so bad in August that the government was forced to take it back from G4S, to run it themselves for at least six months.
Now 10 prisons in the UK are to receive extra government funding totalling £30m which will tackle "acute problems" they face.
Not all of the UK's worst prisons are run by private companies though, and not all of the privately run prisons are bad. These are some of Britain's best and worst.
The worst
HMP Birmingham (G4S)
Birmingham's prison, run by G4S, was the subject of an "urgent notification" process in August.
Inspectors flagged poor assessments, a failure to achieve recommendations and said those detained were vulnerable.
After the 2016 prison riots, Birmingham was assessed and found to be "poor" in all four area which the inspector looks at, only the second time a prison has been ranked that way.
But in the 18 months before the next assessment, inspectors found an increase in violence, with more serious assaults and prisoners feeling unsafe.
Many hid in their cells, with some becoming the victims of targeted attacks.
Drug misuse had become so widespread that one in seven prisoners developed a problem with illicit drugs while in prison, and the inspector felt affected by drugs in the atmosphere during the visits.
The MoJ said there were "serious concerns over safety, security and decency," and it will take over running of the jail for an initial six-month period.
G4S has welcomed the move. Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there would be no cost to the taxpayer.
HMP Nottingham (MoJ)
HMP Nottingham received an urgent protocol notification in January 2018, following an inspection. This was the first one issued in England and Wales.
The prison had been performing poorly since 2010, with repeated assessments marking safety at a "poor" level, the lowest grade.
In two years, levels of self-harm rose and eight people were thought to have taken their own lives.
By January 2018, the prison had only managed to implement two of the 13 safety recommendations which the inspector had made in 2016.
HMP Nottingham's action plan included recruiting 100 more officers, carrying out more than 800 repair tasks, and the introduction of body-worn cameras.
HMP Wormwood Scrubs (MoJ)
Wormwood Scrubs, in West London, was flagged as needing urgent help in the inspector's annual report for 2017-18.
The report said: "At HMP Wormwood Scrubs only nine of the 21 recommendations in the area of safety had been achieved, and for the third consecutive inspection the prison attracted the lowest possible grading in safety of 'poor.'"
In a worrying assessment, the report added that "problems there were intractable, and prisoners were suffering not only appalling conditions, but an almost complete lack of rehabilitative or resettlement activity".
Wormwood Scrubs is run directly by the Ministry of Justice.
HMP Liverpool (MoJ)
The inspector said Liverpool prison had some of the worst conditions ever seen.
Its report was so troubling that a special evidence session was held by the Justice Committee solely to discuss it.
The poor living conditions were highlighted when inspectors then went to G4S-run Altcourse, also near Liverpool, and found a distinct difference.
After an inspection in 2015, 89 recommendations were made, and returning inspectors found two years later that just 22 of them had been met.
Living conditions were described as "squalid" with prisoners still residing in cells which should have been decommissioned, and without working call bells.
Broken windows and piles of rubbish were a common feature in the Merseyside prison, and healthcare had also suffered especially with the staff shortages.
HMP Hull (MoJ)
Hull's prison is one of the 10 which will receive extra funding as it tackles its problems.
The east Yorkshire prison, which houses more than 1,000 men, has problems with drugs and self-harm, according to the report into an unannounced inspection in April 2018.
It also struggles with overcrowding, with two-thirds of men sharing cells intended for just one person. The prison has a large backlog of repairs but inspectors said the men were good at keeping their own areas clean and tidy.
Hull was given an "encouraging" review by the inspector, with many of its key points marked as "reasonably good".
The Best
HMP Oakwood (G4S)
Oakwood prison is a Category C male prison based near Wolverhampton. Opened in 2012, it currently holds more than 2,000 prisoners.
According to the Howard League, having originally been built for 1,600 prisoners, it is now overcrowded, with capacity at 128%.
It was subject to an unannounced inspection at the end of February, and was judged to be "impressive" with officials finding outcomes "reasonably good" against their four test points.
Prisoners said they were well treated by admissions staff on their first night, though 15% admitted to feeling "unsafe" despite a "robust" programme to tackle violence.
More than half of prisoners said drugs were readily available.
The rooms and communal areas were kept clean and helped provide a sense of community, the report added, and prisoners in the self-catered wing enjoy having their own facilities.
But the inspectors were concerned about the level of force being used in the prison, as well as how many prisoners were self-harming. Several of the single occupancy rooms have two prisoners living in them, making them crowded.
HMP Altcourse (G4S)
Altcourse, near Liverpool, is a Category B prison which holds more than 1,100 men, including 100 young adults, and was last inspected in November.
Inspectors praised the prison for making improvements, and even "bucking the trend" in comparison with other local prisons.
HMP Altcourse was judged "reasonably good" against several key assessment points, with a motivated and committed staff group, forming strong relationships with prisoners.
Many of the men spent nine to 10 hours outside of their cells every day, higher than average for a local prison, with sufficient skills and education training for the population.
However the prison has a backlog of reports produced by the National Probation Service and inspectors found gaps in the range of interventions offered to the men.
HMP Spring Hill (MOJ)
Spring Hill in Buckingham was given outcomes of at least "reasonably good" in all four of its assessment areas when inspectors visited in December.
The open prison, which houses 300 men, was found to have a "clear leadership, a motivated management team and a clear plan" around further improvement.
It was praised for being clean and tidy and for supporting prisoners in maintaining relationships with their families.
Education and skills provision was also steadily improving.
However, 20 of the 56 recommendations made by inspectors in 2014 had not been completed by the 2017 inspection.