No plans for freed inmates - report

The study into HMP Bullwood Hall by Anne Owers found the prison was changed from a women's prison to one which took mainly foreign nationals at short notice and with little guidance from Government agencies.

Misunderstandings about the needs of foreign prisoners meant there was not a proper resettlement strategy to prepare inmates for life in the community and to prevent reoffending.

"The absence of a central strategy and guidance at national level had made their task much harder and had seriously inhibited effective resettlement work, for those prisoners released into the UK as well as those being released abroad," the report said.

"As we have frequently said, national standards for the management and support of this group of prisoners are much-needed and long overdue."

Bullwood Hall, near Hockley, Essex, was rated "poor" on the resettlement aspect of its role.

"The most acute problem had been in the area of resettlement. In the absence of any national guidance, regional and area managers had taken the view that no resettlement resources or strategy were needed, since all prisoners would face imminent deportation," the report said.

"This, however, was not the case. As at Canterbury (another prison for foreign nationals), a significant proportion of prisoners were not deported, either because of the short length of their sentences combined with lengthy residence and ties in the UK, or because they were European Union (or in some cases even British) nationals."

A new resettlement strategy was described as "mainly aspirational". The prison was also found to have an offender management model with a "lack of coherent strategy for work specifically with foreign national prisoners".

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Bullwood Hall is conducting a review of resettlement, and is working in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration to put together resettlement plans for prisoners."