HMP High Down, a local category B prison in Banstead, Surrey, held 1,130 men from 55 different countries when it was inspected in May 2018. Four hundred of those men were held in overcrowded cells designed for one and 536 of them were unemployed.

Inspectors found the prison to have deteriorated in two ‘healthy prison’ tests – safety and purposeful activity, including training and education – since their last visit in January 2015.

Violence had increased and was now at a similar level to other local prisons, and much of it was related to drugs.

However, inspectors were most concerned about purposeful activity, which declined to ‘poor’, the lowest assessment. Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said this was directly related to the uncertainty over the prison’s future.

“We were told that there had been some delayed plans to re-role the prison to become a category C training prison. So far as the senior management team were aware, the latest plan was that this should happen in the autumn of 2018, just a few months after the inspection. When I asked if this was definitely going to happen and what the plans were to enable it to do so, no-one could give me a clear answer. They simply did not know. This, I was told, was because they had not been given any more detail by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). This was extraordinary.”

Mr Clarke said: “Hardly surprisingly, I heard the expression ‘planning blight’ being used on several occasions.” To turn High Down into a fit-for-purpose training prison would involve a major change management programme “and yet nobody was able to give me any explanation of time frames, sequencing of actions, milestones, costings or accountabilities. Any ambition to achieve this by the autumn, as was expected by the prison leadership, would inevitably fail.”

At the time of the inspection there was a shortfall of around 550 activity places and only 55% – about 330 – of those men who were allocated to work or education attended at any one time. Forty-seven per cent of prisoners were locked in their cells during the working day.

High Down was assessed as ‘reasonably good’ for respectful treatment of prisoners but inspectors identified “serious failings” in public protection work, including some high-risk men being able contacting victims or potential victims without detection.

Overall, Mr Clarke said:

“The current leadership and staff of the prison are clearly committed to doing what they can for the men in their care. There were many new members of staff, and although this sometimes caused some frustration for prisoners, it was pleasing to see that the senior management of the prison unequivocally saw the new staff as an opportunity to make improvements, and were taking steps to guide and mentor them in their new careers. In turn, the prison itself needs and deserves practical support from HMPPS, and to be spared the uncertainty that was inhibiting progress when we inspected.”

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, said:

“As HMIP acknowledge, High Down has received a significant influx of new staff which will enable the Governor to achieve sustained performance improvement over the coming months. This includes increasing the time prisoners spend in purposeful activity and ensuring that all public protection work is done to a high standard. Plans to convert it to a Training Prison are part of the Government’s estate modernisation programme, but the change will not take place until we are satisfied that the prison has the resources required to effectively fulfil its new role. Since the inspection, the prison has conducted a review of available work spaces and is considering new resettlement activity to improve the prison’s rehabilitation work and ensure more prisoners are engaged in purposeful activity such as employment or education.”

– Ends –

Notes to editors

1. A copy of the full report, published on 4 September 2018, can be found here.
2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
3. HMP High Down was built on the site of Banstead’s former mental hospital. It opened in 1992 and currently operates as an adult male category B local prison. The prison has been selected to reconfigure to a category C prison under estate reconfiguration. In 2009, the prison added two new residential house blocks, a new gym and an educational centre.
4. This unannounced inspection took place between 8 and 17 May 2018.
5. For more on how HMI Prisons inspects prisons and places of detention, see here.
6. Please contact John Steele at HM Inspectorate of Prisons on 020 3334 0357 or 07880 787452, or at john.steele@justice.gov.uk, if you would like more information.