Sir Alan Beith, the Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick upon Tweed, has welcomed the report by Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, following an unannounced visit to HMP Acklington which took place in June 2009. The category C prison near Amble holds over 900 prisoners and the previous inspection report in February 2007 was critical of the institution. But the latest report finds "a greatly energised and much better managed prison. Not all its problems had been resolved in the 18 months since the last inspection, but there had been progress in all areas, and a clear vision of what still needed to be done."
Commenting on the report, Sir Alan Beith said
"Generally the improvements that are within Acklington's control have been wholly or partly achieved and the problems are in areas where the prison does not have the resources it needs to make the improvements the inspectors rightly want to see in things like education and work programmes."
The full report can be found online at http://www.justice.gov.uk/inspectorates/hmi-prisons/acklington.htm
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