Social care in prisons in England and Wales

We published this joint report with HM Inspectorate of Prisons today.

The report shows a failure to plan for the future needs of a growing population of elderly, ill and frail prisoners.

Many older jails are ill-equipped for prisoners in wheelchairs, or with mobility problems. Some prisoners struggle to wash and look after themselves, others cannot get help during the night. The quality of care is inconsistent. As the prison population ages they are more likely to develop new conditions while in prison.

Local authorities must now assess prisoners’ care needs and there are some improvements. Some prisons show good practice and there are many caring staff and fellow prisoners.

Yet there is troubling evidence from individual prison inspections:

• developments in social care in prisons only relate to current levels of need
• there are wide variations in social care services between prisons.