‘SUBSTANTIAL’ improvements have been made at an Aylesbury prison following concerns it had been ‘thrown into chaos’.

Inspectors returned to HMPYOI Aylesbury for an independent review of progress have left impressed with the progress after it was rerolled at a category C prison ‘very little warning’.

It previously housed young men aged 18-21 convicted of violent crimes and serving long sentences but was redesignated as a training establishment earlier this year due to issues with rising numbers of prisoners needing accommodation elsewhere in the estate.

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However, this created a number of issues including a lack of staff, almost no health care provision and men spending far too long locked in their cells.

Nine months on, an inspection by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons has found that the prison remains short-staffed, but has ‘transformed the regime through more effective use of those staff available’, meaning 75 per cent of men now spent more than eight hours out of their cells on a weekday.

At the time of the 2022 inspection, only 40 per cent of men had less than one hour out of their cells each day.

The review found there were still not enough places for all prisoners to attend education, training or work full time, but the number of unemployed prisoners had reduced from 40 per cent at the time of the last inspection to 25 per cent.

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Health care ‘remained frail’ but the provider had ‘taken the brave decision to continue to recruit at their own risk’ while a decision on a new model that met the needs of the older category C population was being agreed.

This meant that 50 per cent of vacancies had been filled by the time of the review.

Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “We were worried about Aylesbury after the last inspection, but the amount of change the governor and his team have achieved in such a short time is remarkable.

“Many prisons are grappling with the same issues that Aylesbury faces, and this should give hope that real, tangible improvement is possible when a team is really determined to succeed.

“The challenge now will be for them to stay on this path. Many of the prisoners I spoke to were appreciative of the improvements to the jail.”

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The summary of the progress reads: “This was a positive independent review of progress and the governor and his team should be congratulated.

“Most prisoners inspectors spoke to were positive about the jail and appreciated the progress that had been made.”