Gartree scrutiny visit 2020
Report for Gartree Prison
Summary
were supported through regular calls from tutors and assistance from trained peer mentors, and the success rate in the summer exams had been good. There were plans to return prisoners to work and education part time to enable social distancing, but these were not yet timetabled. Purple Visits (see Glossary of terms) had been in place since June, but social visits were only reintroduced in early September. Take-up of both was disappointing, and adjustments were needed to make visits more attractive to prisoners and their families. Rehabilitation and the ability for prisoners to progress were perhaps the greatest casualties of the pandemic. The prison was a national hub for programmes and therapeutic interventions, but both had been greatly affected by the restrictions. Inspectors also identified several priorities for improvement, including Full provision of treatments for dental patients should be provided promptly (equivalent to that in the community). (To HMPPS and the governor) S7 Key concern: The regime was severely restricted. Other than the small number in essential work, most prisoners had less than two hours a day out of their cell, reduced to one hour for some prisoners on A-D wings.