North's prison officers agree reforms

Prison officers in the North have agreed to reforms intended to overhaul the much-criticised service.

The introduction of new staff and simplification of the management structure are among changes accepted by the Prison Officers' Association (POA), Justice Minister David Ford told the Assembly.

A review report published in February last year said despite high costs, the Northern Ireland Prison Service was dysfunctional, demoralised and ineffective.

Mr Ford said: "I am confident that the journey of reform has begun, real progress is being made and momentum is building.

"While challenges remain, with the support of this Assembly this reform process is, I believe, unstoppable."

Last year Dame Anne Owers and her review team said fundamental change was needed, including a redundancy scheme for prison officers.

Concerns have also been expressed by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate and the Prisons Ombudsman and surrounded deaths in custody, healthcare and the emphasis placed on security.

Director general of the Prison Service Colin McConnell is leaving in May after just over a year in the job.

An early retirement scheme will see 151 staff leave the service at the end of this month, replaced by newly recruited custody officers by the end of this year.

The recruitment campaign for the new custody officers was launched last month, with nearly 5,000 applications received.

Last year Mr Ford said the changes will generate savings of £180m (€215.14m) over the next 10 years.

He told the Assembly today: "At the outset I made clear that change was not something I wanted to do to our staff but rather our objective was to bring about reform working with them.

"It is therefore encouraging to announce today that after several months of detailed and painstaking negotiations, the Prison Service and the Prison Officers' Association have agreed in principle a way forward."

Measures include:

* The introduction of a new staff deployment agreement;

* On April 1 the service will launch its new operating model to be rolled out with the introduction of new shift patterns over the next six months;

* Custody officer and offender supervisor posts will be introduced and 200 new staff will be recruited on new pay scales;

* The seven-tier management structure will be simplified to four, improving accountability;

* Staff will have a clear line of progression and help in obtaining qualifications. Acquiring a certificate of competence and licence to practise will be a requirement for future employment;

* A new disputes resolution procedure, industrial relations agreement and disciplinary procedure are planned.

The service has reviewed full body imaging scanners and will pilot them as soon as the necessary authorisation for use of this technology in prisons is obtained.