ANNEX 8
HM PRISON SERVICE PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS[338]
Production workshops constitute the majority of operational
workshops across the prison estate. A summary of the range and
number of production workshops offering work experience to prisoners
is set out below.
Engineering
15 workshops, offering 885 work experience places
and formal training including basic/key skills and NVQs. Products
produced in the main for the internal market ranging from simple
repair work and cell doors to sophisticated bespoke items such
as fire escapes and spiral staircases.
Woodwork
Work provided for 763 prisoners in 14 workshops including
the manufacture of "safer cell" furniture. NVQs available
at some production units.
Furniture
HM Prison Service's largest production partnership
is with a US office furniture company, Leggatt and Platt, who
have extensive experience of working with correctional facilities
in the USA. High quality office furniture is assembled in a number
of establishments, currently produced for the internal market
but with the aim of eventually supplying to the external market.
Plastics
Work provided for 165 prisoners in 7 workshops.
Footwear
4 workshops offering 203 work places.
Printing
9 workshops: 7 conventional and digital printing
workshops and 2 Desk Top Publishing units. 179 prisoners currently
employed. Products produced mainly for the internal market with
a small amount of external printing produced mainly for charities
and hospital trusts.
Prison Service currently in discussion with the British
Printing Industries Federation to introduce NVQ training across
printing workshops.
Textiles and Clothing
74 workshops in 59 establishments, offering 2918
work places. Also 3 Sewing Machine Repair workshops, employing
65 prisoners.
The Clothing and Textiles workshops constitute 27%
of all prison workshops and produce almost exclusively for the
Internal Prison Market, providing over £12m worth of goods
to establishments. It provides employment for 2,673 prisoners
at an average of 27.5 hours per week. The Internal Review Report
quoted an annual loss for the industry of £4.8m.
Concrete
3 workshops employing 33 prisoners.
Catering
Approx. 4,000 prisoners involved in food service
preparation and packaging, producing 82 million meals per annum.
78 prisons are currently registered for the delivery of a range
of food preparations qualifications, allied to basic and key skills.
Laundry
42 industrial laundries servicing all prison establishments,
offering 1049 work experience places. Laundry processed in the
main for the internal market at an annual commercial value of
approximately £17m. A number of establishments also operate
external contracts to fill free capacity.
Formal training available in the form of the Guild
of Launderers and Cleaners accredited course in Laundering. One
national laundry company has guaranteed to provide job interviews
for successful students from this course. A similar accredited
course is now available for Laundry Instructors.
An investment programme, costing £2.3m, is underway
to replace some of the inefficient and worn out laundry machinery
that has hindered the provision of a modern and reliable service.
All laundry machinery purchased is similar to that which prisoners
would operate in commercial laundries on release.
338 Information provided by HM Prison Service (March
2004) Back
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