A PORTLAND prison has received a mostly positive report following an inspection.

A new report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons said there was good work going on at The Verne despite the ‘limitations’ of the site – it used to be a former military barracks which dates from Victorian times.

Because of the layout the Category C prison holds low-risk inmates, many of whom are foreign nationals.

One of the issues that was flagged up by inspectors following their unannounced visit last summer was that bosses must do more follow-up work after deaths in custody.

They noted that although arrangements to prevent self-harm were reasonable, better monitoring was required of action plans following deaths in custody investigations.

Six inmates have died there in three years although only one of these was self-inflicted. Four died of natural deaths while one was ‘unexplained’.

Another issue is that there is still a significant backlog of offender assessments and the prison struggled to get involvement from offender managers in the community.

Despite these concerns the report carries generally good news.

Inspectors said The Verne is safe and well run with little bullying or violence, not much evidence of drug misuse and good staff-prisoner interaction.

Arrangements for the large number of foreign nationals were well developed with good access to UK Border Agency staff.

There are sufficient work, education and training places for the population, and access to activity places was now better managed.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said: “The Verne remained reasonably safe, secure and purposeful, despite the limitations of its physical fabric.

“The specific needs of the prisoner population, including the large number of foreign nationals, were generally well catered for.

“Good efforts were made to effectively support resettlement, whether to the United Kingdom or abroad.”

Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Michael Spurr said: “I am pleased that the Chief Inspector found that The Verne continues to perform well and is a safe prison with good, purposeful activity, education and training places and positive staff-prisoner relationships.

“I also note the improvements to resettlement work, which helps to reduce re-offending and protect the public.”