Improvement vow as Staffordshire prison in bad rating

The Ministry of Justice has rated HMP Oakwood in Featherstone, which is run by private firm G4S as 'of serious concern'.

It is one of just three of 134 prisons in the country to receive the rating.

HMP Oakwood's rating has been partly based on the findings of an unannounced inspection of the jail in June and John Mclaughlin, the director who took over the running of the £150 million prison earlier this year, said he believed the full findings 'would not be positive'.

However, he added: "We are working hard with our colleagues and partners to turn this around and we are confident when they next visit we will be delivering high levels of service across the board."

He has meanwhile been warned about the prison's performance in two areas – education and healthcare delivery for inmates. He said a Government-mandated switch in education services – as private firm G4S does not commission that service for the jail – had not helped matters. Featherstone and Brinsford Parish Council chairman Frank Beardsmore expressed his concern about the latest Government findings.

He said: "We had a meeting with the deputy governor recently and he said everything was going well at the prison and that they'd be working with the community.

"The prison hasn't performed well in recent years and when this report comes out I'd be interested to see what it contains.

"We've had our concerns over the size of the prison – in the past few months they've got up to their full quota, so is that going to be a problem?"

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "HMPs Thameside and Oakwood are still in the early stages. Experience demonstrates that it takes up to two years for a new prison to develop and embed good working practices."

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "There could not be a more damning indictment of the Government's fanatical obsession with justice privatisation than its own performance figures.

"Last autumn, the Justice Secretary hailed G4S Oakwood as an example of what the private sector could achieve in prisons. We agree. The prison, ranked joint-bottom in the country, is wasting millions and creating ever more victims of crime."

Oakwood prison is one of the largest prisons in England and Wales, providing places for up to 1,605 category C male prisoners. A G4S spokeswoman said: "We are confident we can achieve high standards at Oakwood."

Elsewhere, every probation trust in England and Wales was rated 'good' or 'exceptional' by the MoJ.