Welsh MP calls for UK Government to take over running of Parc Prison after deaths
THE UK Government has faced calls to take over the running of HMP Parc from private firm G4S, amid concerns over a spate of deaths.
Nine adults have died at HMP Parc in Bridgend since the end of February, with four deaths so far linked to substance misuse and another potentially so.
Justice minister Edward Argar argued the contract “continues to perform well” although he acknowledged there is “more to do”.
G4S has managed the establishment since it opened in 1997 and it received a 10-year contract to continue operating it in 2022.
Labour MP Beth Winter (Cynon Valley) told justice questions on May 15: “The most recent inspectorate of prisons report into HMP Parc in 2022 found that almost half of prisoners had easy access ccess to drugs and our cururrent Welsh Affairs rs Committee inquiry y into prisons has also received evidence regarding drug use, as well the fact that t Parc is both under- staffed and the staff aff are inexperienced.”
Ms Winter pointed ed to this evidence, recent t deaths and the recorded levels evels of violence in the prison, asking: “Would the minister welcome a new inspection of Parc by the chief inspector?
“And given the £400m cost of the contract to G4S to run the prison, has he given consideration to the prison service stepping in to manage it as it has done with Birmingham prison?”
Mr Argar said X-ray body scanners and handheld devices are among the measures being rolled out to tackle drugs at HMP Parc.
He said: “Any inspection is a matter for the chief inspector of prisons.
“In terms of the overall performance of Parc, I think it’s important to remember that while there are challenges that were addressed in the urgent question [in the House of Commons on May 13], Parc is a prison that is rated as performing well and a contract that is performing well.
“I think in the 2022 inspection it got one measure of ‘good’ and three of ‘reasonably good’. There is more to do and we will continue to work with the prison but the contract continues to perform well.”
In March, South Wales Police said it could not confirm the four drugrelated deaths were connected to any specific drug.
It added a fast-track process had identified ident the presence of Nitazene-based Nit substances stanc in connection with all four deaths, with wi Spice identified in two of the four deaths. de
Labour’s shadow justice ju secretary Shabana Sh Mahmood said: said “Report after report, repor failure after failure. At Parc prison nine people have ha died in just two months, at B Bedford cells were flooded with raw sewage.
“And at Wandsworth, a suspected terrorist escaped last year, the prison still isn’t secure, and the governor has resigned. She’s taken responsibility – when will he?”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk replied: “So she’s right that there are prisons where the standards are not where we want them to be. There are something like 120 prisons in the estate, and we are the party that created the urgent notification system so that these matters can be drawn to the attention of the Government.
“But I would just make this point as well, there are prisons where they have failed in the past and we have turned them around. Take HMP Liverpool – which I went to – and in 2017 (Sir Robert Neill) will remember there was a scathing report – it has been turned around, it is safe, decent, rehabilitative, prisoners are doing excellent work. Take HMP Chelmsford, which had a (urgent notification) and has been turned around.
“We take this incredibly seriously, but we are the party that is investing record amounts in our estate.”
An HMP Parc spokesperson said: “The safety of prisoners and staff is our number one priority, and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who have died recently at HMP Parc.
“The vast majority of our staff are hard-working and honest. As with every other prison in the country, we work closely and effectively with the police and the HMPPS (HM Prison and Probation Service) counter-corruption team to crack down on the small number who may break the rules.
“We use a range of tactics to tackle the ingress of drugs and reduce demand. This includes robust security measures for staff, visitors and prisoners as well as substance misuse support to those in our care.
“Tough sanctions are imposed on prisoners found to be involved in drugs, including referral to the police for criminal investigation.
“Targeted and random mandatory drug testing is undertaken, as is the case in all prisons in England and Wales.”
That exchange came just 24 hours after MPs aired concerns over reports of prisoners at Parc carrying homemade knives or “shanks” to feel safe, drugs being taken in by staff or dropped by drone, and fears of more deaths.
In an urgent debate about the situation at HMP Parc, MPs shared stories they had been told about the prison while the justice minister said it was “generally a well run prison”.
Blaenau Gwent Labour MP Nick Smith quoted one of his constituents who is in the prison as saying: “He feels unsafe in Parc. He describes prisoners walking round with shanks, just to feel safe.”
Conservative MP Stephen Crabb, who chairs the Welsh affairs committee which is currently taking evidence about prisons in Wales, said: “The number of fatalities is, by no means, normal. It’s a quite extraordinary situation.
“There’s been multiple allegations of staff themselves bringing in illegal substances into the prison and a current prisoner recently wrote to Welsh affairs committee and said: ‘Drugs are everywhere in prison from cannabis to heroin and so-called spice, dribs and drabs may enter through visits and some by drone but let’s not confuse the issue, far more comes in by people employed in prison.’”
Newport East MP Jessica Morden said the mother of a prisoner at Parc told her that every day she “expects a phone call telling me the worst...is my son going to be another statistic?”
In response to the concerns about drugs at the prison, Mr Argar said HMPSS and G4S are “working together” using the “latest technologies” to work out drug entry points and movement within the prison, and that there have been “extensive searches of prisoners and staff”.
[My constituent] feels unsafe in Parc. He describes prisoners walking around with shanks, just to feel safe
Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith