Overcrowding concerns raised by Mary Kelly Foy and board at HMP Durham

Concerns have once again been raised at HMP Durham where cells designed for one person usually have two prisoners in them.

The prison’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) looked at areas such as safety, humane treatment, equality and diversity, health and wellbeing, and progression as part of an annual report.

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The voluntary members carried out regular visits between November 1, 2021 and October 31 last year.

Overall, the board was satisfied staff had responded well to challenges posed during the pandemic and found that the prison regards safety as a "high priority".

A survey found that 93 per cent of participants felt ‘safe or very safe’ at HMP Durham but it also emerged that 90 per cent of cells originally designed for one prisoner now house two.

The report states: "The board continues to be concerned by the level of overcrowding with two prisoners sharing a cell designed for one.

“This can lead to conflict between the two prisoners as well as being undignified and unhygienic.

“Whilst being satisfied cells meet minimum statutory requirements, the board continues to remain concerned about the level of overcrowding.

“Generally, cells remain inappropriate for disabled or aged prisoners; basic showering arrangements and issues with heat control remain endemic.

“The board acknowledges that the prison works hard to maintain good standards of accommodation and the work of the clean, rehabilitative, enabling and decent (CRED) programme is operating, albeit very slowly.”

Mary Kelly Foy (Image: Contributor)

Durham City MP Mary Kelly Foy said the report ‘puts into black and white’ the hidden consequences of ‘failed Conservative Government policies’ in prisons.

She said hundreds of courts and 10,000 prison cells have been closed on the Government’s watch.

Ms Kelly Foy said: “Their decisions have led to the largest court backlog on record, denying victims and their families justice and causing severe overcrowding in prisons like HMP Durham.

“Worryingly, it seems the Government have not grasped the scale of this crisis, nor possess any serious plan to fix it, as in January it was reported the Government are scaling back plans to build new prison capacity.

“Prisons risk becoming pressure cooker environments, placing inmates and prison officers at serious risk of harm.”

Concerns are also raised in the report about men held under Immigration Act powers that are ‘remaining for too long a period in HMP Durham’, as well as concerns about the number of foreign national prisoners and out of area prisoners who do not receive social visits because of distance from family.

The report also highlights the increase in time that unsentenced prisoners are spending in the category B prison and asks what else can be done to reduce time prisoners spend on remand.

Ms Kelly Foy said: “I will be meeting with the Governor of HMP Durham and the Prison Officers Association next week to discuss this report, as ministers cannot continue to bury their heads in the sand and neglect our justice system for a moment longer.”

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The prison board has also identified a ‘dire issue of access to dentistry’ and reports that social video calls have been reduced to one per month per prisoner.

Members found that prisoners spoke highly of relationships with healthcare staff but have been frustrated by waiting lists.

The report said: "The board acknowledges the work done by healthcare to reduce waiting times, but dental waiting times is a great cause of concern.

“There still needs to be improvements in ensuring all men arriving into reception receive a healthcare screening before moving into the first night centre.

“Improvements have been made in the percentage of men receiving secondary screening within seven days.

“Prisoners are well supported by the drug action and recovery team.”

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The report said there are no concerns regarding staffing levels and said the prison’s kitchen provides healthy balanced meals catering for special diets, medical, religious and cultural needs.

Dr Therese Quincey, IMB chairwoman, said “The board has gathered evidence throughout the reporting period and is satisfied that the prison staff have responded to many challenges and have been proactive in managing the prison's priorities.”

NHS England has been contacted for comment regarding the report.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "We welcome the board’s recognition that HMP Durham is a safe environment with good mental health support.

“We are addressing capacity pressures by hiring more staff and pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century – investing £4 billion to deliver 20,000 extra places.”