An MP today demanded an urgent response after a damning report suggested violence and solitary confinement were rife at Feltham Young Offender Institution.
The findings, published yesterday by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), revealed how there had been 79 attacks on staff in the space of six months at the Bedfont Road prison, and some inmates were confined to their cells for 23 hours a day.
Feltham and Heston MP Seema Malhotra today voiced her concerns about the report, which she said highlighted high levels of self-harm and gang-related violence, and showed one in four convicts were kept in solitary confinement for long periods.
"The Government should be focusing on improving conditions, education facilities and resources such as better training for prison guards," she said.
"Our young people need the chance and support to turn their lives around. Things have got worse, not better and I will be writing to the prisons minister for an urgent update on the Government's action plan to respond to the serious issues identified."
A Ministry of Justice chief yesterday said there was 'no easy answer' to the challenges identified in the report, but that he was committed to working with partners in the Youth Justice Board and the wider community to reduce violence and support effective rehabilitation.
Feltham Young Offender Institution is home to more than 600 children and young men, aged between 15 and 21.
