Watchdog warns of prison overcrowding as Boris Johnson vows to extend jail terms

Ministers accused of showing ‘inaccurate and incomplete understanding’ of how to improve jail system as they prepare to lock prisoners up for longer. May Bulman reports

The National Audit Office says the prison service has shown an ‘inaccurate understanding’ of how to improve the system (PA)

Ministers are failing to tackle overcrowding and soaring levels of violence and self-harm in prisons, the government’s spending watchdog has warned as Boris Johnson vows to introduce longer jail terms.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the prison service had shown an “inaccurate and incomplete understanding” of how to improve the system, presiding over plummeting levels of safety and huge maintenance backlogs despite having introduced flagship initiatives to tackle these issues five years ago.

It comes as the prime minister plans to increase prison sentences for serious sexual and violent offenders, as well as creating 10,000 more prison places in order to “improve the criminal justice system and make sure criminals are serving the time they are sentenced to”.

The government also announced earlier this week that, in light of the Streatham attack, emergency legislation would be introduced to end the automatic early release of terror offenders – which would apply to both future offenders and those currently serving their sentences.

The NAO report warns that, in light of Mr Johnson’s plans, the government must “learn lessons from its recent experiences” and develop a long-term strategy that will provide prisons that are fit for purpose.

The watchdog said flagship initiatives” in 2015 to contract out maintenance and create 10,000 new prison places have failed to deliver, with more than 40 per cent of inspected prisons rated as “poor” or “not sufficiently good” since those plans were announced, the report states.

It found a dramatic increase in violence and self-harm across the prison estate between 2015 and 2018 – with a 110 per cent increase in prisoner assaults on staff, a 63 per cent increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and a 73 per cent increase in self-harm incidents.

Around 60 per cent of adult inmates are meanwhile locked up in overcrowded facilities, and over the past decade the prison service has taken 1,730 cells permanently out of use and it expects to lose 500 places a year because of the poor conditions of the remaining estate.

Ministers have “severely underestimated” the need for reactive maintenance across the penal estate, with more than 40 per cent of prisons expected to need major repair or replacement in the next three years and a backlog of major repairs that will cost £916m to fix.

In 2014-15, the prison service decided to outsource facilities management and expected to save around £80m by contracting out to the firms Amey and Carillion, but it has failed to achieve this, and had to spend £143m more than expected over the past four years, the report states.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said the prison service had “not been able to create enough prison places, in the right type of prisons and at the right time to meet demand”.

He added: “It has failed to deliver the savings it hoped for by contracting out prison maintenance services. Prisons remain in a poor condition, poor safety has reached record levels, and there are huge maintenance backlogs.

“The government has recently committed to creating 10,000 new prison places and needs to learn lessons from its recent experiences. Crucially, HMPPS must work with the Ministry of Justice and Treasury to develop a long-term, deliverable strategy that will provide prisons that are fit for purpose.”

Campaigners said the report exposed how the plans were “unrealistic” and accused ministers of vowing to send more people to a prison system that all too often serves only to “entrench” the behaviour it is supposed to change.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Anyone who is serious about trying to fix the problems in our prisons should read this report. It shows what happens when political rhetoric meets reality, and points to the challenges that lie ahead if ministers continue to pursue unrealistic targets.”

She called for a “change of direction“ in the government approach, adding: “The solution begins with a commitment to scrap short sentences and put fewer people behind bars. By reducing demand on the system, we can start to turn lives around, protect staff and make communities safer.”

Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Scarcely a week passes without another high profile announcement of longer sentences or delayed release dates, despite the absence of any evidence that more imprisonment does anything to deter or reduce crime.

“This report exposes the recklessness of that approach, sending people to a prison system that shames us as a country, and all too often serves only to entrench the behaviour it is supposed to change.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We recognise the pressures facing prisons which is why we are taking action to improve the estate and ensure sufficient resource is in place.

“We will always have enough prison places to keep offenders behind bars and the Government’s £2.5bn investment will create 10,000 modern places, on top of the two new jails already being built.”