Parc Prison now much more stable, says minister

Parc Prison is the second largest in Wales, after Berwyn in Wrexham

A south Wales prison where 13 inmates have died this year has made "considerable progress" in the way that is it run, a Welsh government minister has said.

Social Justice minister Jane Hutt said HMP Parc, in Bridgend, was now "much, much more stable".

Security company G4S, which runs Parc, says it has a "zero-tolerance policy towards drugs" following claims of drugs misuse at the prison.

The minister said she had received reassurances from Ian Barrow, who oversees the management of Welsh prisons, that progress had been made at Parc since the appointment of a new boss in June.

Ms Hutt said she would visit Parc later this month with the UK government’s prisons minister Lord Timpson.

Will Styles, who has been with G4S for a year running HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire, was appointed as the new director after Heather Whitehead stood down.

She had been running HMP Parc in Bridgend since August 2023.

Her departure with immediate effect was "not in response to one single incident", security firm G4S, which runs the private prison, said at the time.

Thirteen inmates have died at Parc since the start of 2024 - more than at any other prison - and three prisoners were also taken to hospital following disorder at the prison in June.

At least four of the deaths are believed to be drug-related.

South Wales Police said in March that a Nitazene - a synthetic opioid drug - had been identified in connection with all four deaths.

The force said spice, another synthetic drug, had been identified in two of the four deaths.

G4S has previously said it has a "zero-tolerance policy towards drugs".

Families of inmates who died while in a prison protested outside the facility in May saying they wanted answers from authorities following claims of drug misuse within the jail.

At Social Justice Questions in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday, Conservative Senedd member Altaf Hussain raised concerns about healthcare in Parc.

In response, Social Justice Secretary Jane Hutt said that her thoughts were with staff and families over the "deeply concerning" deaths in custody earlier this year.

She said she met the head of Welsh prisons and probation, Ian Barrow, last month and he had given her "reassurances on the progress made at Parc" since the appointment of a new boss there and "my understanding from that meeting is that Parc has made considerable progress since the spring".

"It's now, much more stable," she said.

She added that she would be visiting the prison with the new UK government prisons minister Lord Timpson on 30 September.

HMP Parc is one of the UK's largest category B prisons, holding convicted male adult and young offenders, as well as convicted sex offenders or those awaiting trial for sex offences.