STAFFING levels at four prisons have been set so low that the Home Office fears the institutions will be unable to meet promises to tackle re-offending, a Commons report said.

New staff at at the privately-run jails risk undermining security because they are willing to “turn a blind eye” to problems, the report said. It went on to say that private jails had younger, less experienced officers who were at risk of being persuaded by offenders to overlook breaches of security.

“Most of the escapes from prisons in recent years had occurred this way,” the report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee said. It added that staffing levels at state-run Manchester and Blakenhurst jails and recently opened private jails had led to concerns that they would not be able to meet their obligations.

The report called for a reduction in the 48 key performance targets and 61 prison service standards that have to be met by state-run jails. “The large number of measures does not lead to any better understanding of individual prison performance,” it concluded.

Enver Solomon, policy officer with the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Prisons have become victims of a targetsetting culture that can distort the reality of what is really being achieved in our jails. Most emphasis should be placed on individual needs assessment rather than endless performance targets.”

• The Prison Service admitted last night that disruptive children at Stoke Heath Young Offenders’ Institution, in Shropshire, were being left to calm down in cells with no natural light, furniture or toilet. The Howard League for Penal Reform said the treatment was tantamount to child abuse.

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