
A big thank you for taking the time to do this!
What to consider before writing
While you can of course write directly to the Minister for Prisons, it's more effective if you write to your local MP and ask them to raise your concerns with the Minister. They should pass your letter on and ask for a response from the Minister, increasing the chance that your letter will be seen by the Minister. A letter from an MP to a Minister has to be answered by officials from the Ministry of Justice within a fixed time limit – usually 30 days.
The current Minister for Prisons is James Timpson.
It’s also more effective if you use your own words and style rather than copying something word for word that you’ve seen on our website etc. Letters that look all the same have far less impact.
You don’t need to cover every point in one letter. Better to make it short and focus on what really matters to you.
Email is fine if you prefer this format.
Your introduction
Say a little bit about why you are writing about Wandsworth Prison – did you hear about it at the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign meeting at St Anne’s Church, did you see the piece on Channel 4 News, are you a relative of a serving inmate etc?
How did you feel about what you heard about the conditions in Wandsworth? Shocked, saddened, disgusted, angry, concerned etc?
Does it concern you as a member of the local community that this is happening in our midst?
Does it bother you as a UK citizen that we treat prisoners in this way?
Is it the waste of taxpayers’ money that irks you?
Ideas on what to cover
You might want to go into detail on some of the failings that have been mentioned.
This could be:
The general condition of the buildings – the broken windows, the poor state of repair, the inadequate plumbing and the lack of showers, and the lack of cleanliness
The vermin – the rats, mice, cockroaches, pigeons and silverfish infestations
The failure to provide medication when needed, cancellation of external medical appointments, the problems of self-harm and mental health
Prisoners being locked up for 22 hours a day or more with nothing to do, and many turning to drugs
The lack of activities, purposeful work and preparation for leaving prison to re-enter the community – our community
The access to drugs and the involvement of criminal gangs both inside and outside the prison, and the devastation this causes to the lives of prisoners and their families.
What do you want the Minister to do?
The purpose of writing to your MP and asking them to raise your concerns with the Minister is to put pressure on them, and the Prison Service that is responsible for all prisons in the UK, to do something. So you need to include an ‘ask’.
This could be a general question to the Minister as to what they are doing about the current crisis in Wandsworth prison. Or you could ask a more detailed question if you have specific concerns.
This could take the form of:
Example ask: Asking the Minister what the prison is doing now about a particular issue. E.g getting rid of the vermin, mending the broken windows
Example ask: Asking the Minister for an assurance that this problem is being dealt with, or that there is an actual plan to deal with it in the near future, or that the Minister will raise it with the Prison Service and the Governor of the prison.
Example ask: Asking the Minister for an assurance of increased spending on prisons and/or a review of prisons
How to handle the follow-up
The likelihood is that you and your MP will get a fairly bland response from the Minister, and you may well feel that this doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. It will have been written by one of his civil servants practised in the art of replying in a ‘Sir Humphrey’ way.
Do not feel bad about this, the fact that the Minister will be seeing letters about Wandsworth prison across his desk should be enough to get him to start asking questions himself (though hopefully he is already aware of the issues at Wandsworth).
If you think the answer isn’t good enough or too vague, you can write a reply and drill down into some of the responses – when, why, who, what and how?
Who to contact?
The letter to your local MP should be addressed to them by name and sent to their Parliamentary office at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA (but can be sent by email).
MP | Political Party | Constituency | |
---|---|---|---|
Fleur Anderson MP | Labour | Putney | |
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP | Labour | Tooting | |
Marsha de Cordova MP | Labour | Battersea |
You can find details of all other MPs on this website: www.parliament.uk
Official reports on HMP Wandsworth for your reference
You may find these helpful to refer to:
The Chief Inspector of Prisons Urgent Notification letter and report on HMP Wandsworth May 2024
The Independent Monitoring Board report for the year to 31 May 2023