UK prisons ‘drastically deteriorated’ after maintenance was privatised, says report | UK News
Conditions in UK prisons have “drastically deteriorated” after the previous Tory government decided to privatise all maintenance work, according to a new report.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) called on Labour to bring maintenance contracts back “in house” after previous decisions had been an “unmitigated disaster” and created a system that is “failing at every level”.
The POA highlighted how courts in the Netherlands and Germany had previously refused to extradite suspected drug smugglers back to the UK due to concerns the prison conditions were “inhumane”.
Testimonies in the report from prison officers working in England and Wales revealed a “crumbling estate, rodent infestations and appalling conditions” for staff and prisoners.
One jail is said to have an “ongoing legionella issue” and is waiting for underground water pipe replacement, said the POA.
There are also prisons with CCTV cameras which have been “broken for some time” and faulty walkway lighting which is “putting staff at risk of trips and falls during the night”.
Prison officers revealed there are water leaks, issues with fire alarms, and a kitchen which has had no heating for eight years.
Another testimony outlined how there was a part of a jail which has been without hot water since April 2022.
Prisoners and staff were using a “single portable sink” which left them with the “inability to wash their hands properly” causing “unhygienic and deeply demoralising” conditions.
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Officers said there were “never these problems when we had our own works department” and repairs were normally carried out “promptly”.
The POA said maintenance contracts are up for renewal this year, providing the opportunity for the “biggest wave of insourcing in a generation”.
Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the POA, said: “The evidence we have heard from prison officers across the country about the condition of the UK’s jails is a damning indictment of privatised prison maintenance – a system that is failing at every level.
“A decaying and crumbling prison estate does not create an atmosphere conducive to rehabilitating offenders.
“We need to bring these contracts back in house to ensure that we have prisons that are safe, hygienic and dignified for staff, prisoners and visitors.”
A Ministry Of Justice spokesperson told Sky News: “This government inherited a prisons system in crisis – with crumbling infrastructure, dangerous prisons and hard-working staff under immense pressure.
“The government has taken immediate action to address the crowding chaos engulfing our jails.
“We are now focusing on improving conditions in the long term, including investing £500m into prison and probation maintenance, which will improve conditions and keep prisons secure.”