In July 2023 the Prison Inspectorate invoked the “Urgent Notification Protocol”, which is essence means HMIP direct their concerns straight to the Secretary of State who has a very limited period of time to respond with a positive plan of action. This is the second time such a notice has been issued in resect of Bristol; one notification is a black mark against a prison, two is unprecedented. The previous notification was issued in June 2019.
When the Prison Inspectorate invoked the “Urgent Notification Protocol”, which is essence means HMIP direct their concerns straight to the Secretary of State who has a very limited period of time to respond with a positive plan of action, it is because the inspectors have major concerns about the prison. They are not issued lightly.
Bristol has been under special measures, a process whereby the MoJ undertake to provide assistance to the prison to help in making improvements since 2017 but the Inspectors do not believe that there has been sufficient improvement in the prison’s performance.
To read the full letters and all their appendices follow the link below:
- Urgent Notification at HMP Bristol (64 kB), Urgent Notification letter, issued on 26 July 2023, and inspection debriefing paper.
- HMP Bristol Urgent Notification (845.90 kB), HMP Bristol Urgent Notification letter, issued on 11 June 2019, and inspection debriefing paper