Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons consultation on second version of Expectations for Women

Clinks provided further feedback to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) on the development of a revised set of Expectations for Women, the criteria used to conduct inspections of women’s prisons. Clinks first responded to the consultation in October 2019, and are delighted to see significant changes made, including our recommendation that trauma-informed care be far more prominent, and to include two indicators specifically focussed on ensuring prisons are coordinating effectively with voluntary sector organisations. We also highlight a few areas which we think can be further strengthened, including the need for HMIP to monitor the longer term impacts of Covid-19 restrictions on women, such as the impact on mental health and wellbeing and sentence progression.

In October 2019, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has asked stakeholders for their views on whether the criteria used for assessing the treatment of and conditions for women in prison, Expectations for Women (last updated in 2014) can be improved. Clinks welcomed this chance to identify opportunities to strengthen Expectations for Women and also to ensure the revised criteria reflect the changes that have occurred in government policy over the last five years. 

In order to ensure the active involvement of voluntary organisations in this process, Clinks held two consultation events in August 2019 with voluntary sector workers who had experience of working with women in prison. We also facilitated HMIP to consult directly with specialist women’s organisations at our women’s networking forum in June 2019.

Original publish date: 23 January 2020