Mixed Messages on Fire Safety in Prisons

 

I was surprised to read in today’s inspectorate (HMIP) report on HMP Styal that the 15 detached houses which accommodate most of the women prisoners there “needed urgent and significant investment to address fire safety concerns”.

Why the surprise? Because 18 months ago the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at the Cheshire prison noted in their 2022-23 report that the houses were “now fully compliant with fire safety regulations.” 

Prior to that, fire risk to prisoners was so bad at Styal that the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate (CPFSI) apparently issued an enforcement notice. According to the IMB report for 2021-22, “prison staff have endeavoured to reduce the fire risk for prisoners in the affected houses by implementing measures such as not locking them into their cells at night and completing a volumetric exercise on all prisoner property within the prison. This enforcement notice was withdrawn on March 22, 2022.”

Presumably this was because what HMIP today describe as “fire safety concerns” had been addressed.  For some reason the notice about Styal does not appear in the CPFSI enforcement register , although notices relating to other prisons do. 

While this may seem a technical matter, last year there were 26 cell fires at Styal. While most if not all are likely to have been in the prisons cellular units rather than the houses,  there were only 6  in the establishment in the preceding year.

Given the scale of potential consequences of fires, it’s surely important that the adequacy of fire safety is properly monitored by oversight bodies.  HMIP seldom mentions it in their reports, IMB’s more so but inconsistently.  In their report on HMP Wayland last week, the IMB expressed dissatisfaction at “the failure to provide a significant number of additional anti-barricade cells, which were promised following a very serious cell fire some years ago.”

As for CPFSI, it’s responsible for ensuring that fire safety standards are maintained by regulating compliance with the Fire Safety Order in over 10,000 Crown Premises, including prisons. But it’s under resourced to do that job effectively.

It’s a legal requirement to make all cells Fire Safety Compliant which the Prison Service have estimated would cost £1.4bn. But that was before one of the main contractors doing the work, ISG, went into administration so the bill will be higher.

It’s good news that the Prison Service has agreed with CPFSI that any of the 23,000 cells which currently don’t meet standards will be “taken offline” at the end of 2027 if they haven’t been “remediated” and do not have the necessary in-built smoke detection.  

But given funding and population pressures, this remedial work needs much better oversight to ensure progress is being made. HMIP, IMBs and CPFSI need to get their act together on this.

The Public Accounts Committee are looking at the condition of government properties and should recommend that they do so.