A NORTH-East jail has been judged as not safe enough, while "indifferent" staff have been told they need to be more constructive to improve inadequate outcomes.

Inspectors say Holme House prison, in Stockton, is not delivering “sufficiently good” outcomes for prisoners after visiting the category C facility in February and March, just prior to the coronavirus lockdown.

Peter Clarke, chief inspector of prisons said: “It is too soon to say how Holme House will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis and to judge the longer-term impact this experience will have on the prison.

“Doubtless there will be new, and perhaps unforeseen, challenges to contend with going forward.

“That said, our criticisms relate to the prevailing culture we found when we inspected. The prison seemed to us to be reasonably well resourced and equipped, and its purpose seemed clearly defined.

“The key to Holme House’s success will be ensuring that staff are encouraged to engage constructively and consistently with prisoners, that staff expectations of prisoners are greater and that standards generally are raised.”

Inspectors found purposeful activity has declined from “reasonably good” in 2017 to “not sufficiently good”, with insufficient assessments of safety, respect and rehabilitation and release planning.

He said that overall the prison, which has space for more than 1,200 men, was falling "well short" of achieving its purpose as a training prison for category C prisoners.

The prison was still not safe enough, he added, and arrangements to receive and induct new prisoners were inadequate, and described work to support new arrivals as "poor".

Overall levels of violence were consistent with similar prisons, but much more could have been done to improve the safety and well-being of prisoners and reduce violence still further, a report, published today said.

More attention was also needed to ensure that the use of force by staff was always fully accounted for.

More positively, Mr Clarke said, there had been significant investment in and a coordinated strategy to deliver some "impressive" reductions in the availability of illicit substances, which had been almost out of control in 2017.

There had been three self-inflicted deaths and self-harm had increased since the previous inspection.

The prison’s response to this priority could best be described as inconsistent, Mr Clarke added.

Holme House had embedded a reasonably effective keyworker scheme, but at the heart of many of the prison’s problems were poor staff-prisoner relationships which were due partly to staff indifference.

Mr Clarke said: “There was a clear need for a more proactive culture among staff, one that was more supportive of a constructive, rehabilitative ethos.

"Along with this, the general environment, levels of overcrowding and the quality of accommodation, as well as other factors associated with the quality of daily living, such as the food and arrangements to support legitimate redress among prisoners, required improvement.”

However, the promotion of equality was improving and outcomes in health were good, he said.

Time out of cell and the general level of prisoner engagement with education and work did not reflect what is normally expected of a training prison, the report added.

Phil Copple, HM Prison and Probation Service Director General of Prisons, said: “The team at HMP Holme House have taken swift action to improve based on the inspectorate’s recommendations.

"This will build on the impressive work they have done to drive down drug use with the help of new technology.

"Staff are receiving extra training to improve relationships with prisoners and open forums are being held for concerns to be raised. One-to-one support is available for those most at risk of self-harm or entering custody for the first time.”