Assembly statement on the Review of Prisons

Speech by Justice Minister David Ford on Mon 21st Jun 2010

I wish to make a statement on the review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of all prisons. As the House will be aware, the review is an action that was identified in the Hillsborough agreement of 5 February 2010 for inclusion in the addendum to the Programme for Government. Although I gave the Committee for Justice a summary of my intentions in regard to the review when I appeared before it, it is right that I should report its composition and terms of reference in the Chamber.

Although I am open to suggestions from the review team on the modification of the terms of reference, the terms as I will present them to that team are as follows:

"To conduct a rolling review, in line with the agreement at Hillsborough Castle of 5 February 2010, encompassing the conditions of detention, management and oversight of all prisons. The review is to report to the Minister of Justice.

It is envisaged that the review will consist of several stages. The first will include a review of the regime at Maghaberry Prison. That will take account of: recent reports on Maghaberry (including the Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland /Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons inspection and the two Pearson reports); developments in both the integrated and the separated regimes already in place and previous reviews of the regime; the development plans already in hand by the Governor of Maghaberry, in consultation with Prison Service management; and NIPS management's programme for Workforce Reform and associated projects.

Second, the review will cover the remaining matters identified in the Hillsborough Agreement, building on the work achieved in the first stage. It is envisaged this stage may be in two strands. One strand would include: issues specific to Magilligan Prison, including particularly the replacement of the prison recognising that much of the accommodation and infrastructure is not fit for purpose; and issues at Hydebank Wood relating in particular to the development of the strategy for women offenders including the scope for a discrete facility, and developments in relation to juvenile offenders at Hydebank Wood in liaison with the Youth Justice Agency.

The second strand would consider wider issues affecting the future development of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, including its future composition and its culture and ethos.

The Review Team will draw on the extensive body of work that has been undertaken by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate in its consideration of the current issues facing the Prison Service. The Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice will also act as an adviser to the Review on these issues, including the current review of governance.

In all its work, the Review Team will wish to take the views of the full range of stakeholders, including prison management, staff, trades unions, prisoner fora and other prisoner representative groups, and the Assembly Justice Committee. It will also be informed by developments in Prison Services across these islands.

It is envisaged that the first stage of the review should be reported to the Minister by autumn 2010 and the second stage by early 2011."

I have sought to ensure that the review team has expertise and input from across these islands. The review is an opportunity to examine the issues innovatively and to draw on best practice more widely. Accordingly, I am delighted that Dame Anne Owers has agreed to chair the review team. For the past nine years, Dame Anne has served as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, and she will commence her new role when she steps down from that position shortly. She brings to the review a wealth of relevant experience, not only as Chief Inspector of Prisons but from the range of other positions that she has held.

Dame Anne Owers will be joined by Mr Phil Wheatley, who is the recently retired director general of the National Offender Management Service. Prior to holding that position, Mr Wheatley was director general of HM Prison Service, following an extensive career in that service.

Professor Fergus McNeill, who is a professor of criminology and social work at Glasgow University, has also agreed to serve on the review team. He brings to the team his distinguished experience as an academic and as a practitioner in the arena of offending and criminal justice.

Paul Leighton, who retired as Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI last year, will also join the team, bringing his experience of the Northern Ireland criminal justice system and of the change programme that our policing service has undergone.

The final member of the review team is Ms Clodach McGrory, who recently completed 12 years as a sentence review commissioner. Ms McGrory is a parole commissioner. Previously, she practised at the Northern Ireland Bar, and she has served as a member of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights and the Irish Human Rights Commission.

Although I have announced the team today, it will not formally start its work until July. As you can see, Mr Deputy Speaker, it is an impressive team with a very important and wide-ranging remit. I know that the team will want to take the views of as wide a range of interested parties as possible, not just from those in Northern Ireland. I have, however, asked the team to deliver the product in two stages, as I am keen to maintain the momentum. I trust that the work of those experts will enable us all to achieve a new consensus on the role of custody and its management as the Prison Service and the wider system emerge from the legacy of the past.

Let me emphasise a few key points. First, I am not announcing today a review that will specifically focus on separated conditions of detention. It is important that the issues that are represented by only 5% of the total prison population are considered in the wider context of all those who are in custody. Secondly, I agree with the director general of the Prison Service that the current arrangements for women at Hydebank Wood are not appropriate for the longer term. It will be important for us all, guided by the review ream, to think creatively to find ways to improve the current arrangements within the likely available financial envelope. Thirdly, it remains essential for Prison Service management and the Prison Officers' Association (POA) to work together to progress the development of the service while the review is ongoing. I will not allow the review to distract the Prison Service's attention from the many pressing actions that already await implementation following previous reports by, for example, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate and the Police Ombudsman.

Finally, I emphasise my earlier point that the review is an opportunity to enable us all, including all of us in the Assembly, to achieve a new consensus on how our Prison Service should develop for the future. I have described the devolution of justice powers as an opportunity to reshape the justice system to meet the needs of Northern Ireland for the decades that lie ahead. This review is part of that project. Therefore, I encourage everyone with an interest in ensuring that we make the most of that opportunity to engage with the review and with the issues for which we in the Chamber have now been given responsibility.