NIPS- Provision of Bereavement Care for Prisoners in custody

Tender description

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) is an Executive agency of the Department of Justice NI (DOJNI) and is responsible for the management of Her Majesty’s Prisons in Northern Ireland. The Prison Service operates under the control of the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 and the Prison and Young Offenders Rules (Northern Ireland) 1995. There are three Prisons in Northern Ireland which comprise of HMP Maghaberry and HMP Magilligan which accommodate adult male prisoners and Hydebank Wood Prison and Young Offenders Centre which accommodates both Young Offenders and adult female Prisoners. These Prisons vary in terms of the number of Prisoners accommodated, the types of Prisoner and the degree of security required. Additional information about the NIPS is available on: www.niprisonservice.gov.uk The population within the NIPS Prisons on 16 November 2011 was 1798 including a remand population of 650. Not all Prisoners will access Bereavement Support Services; however year-on-year increases in the prisoner population means there are increasing numbers of prisoners identified as requiring support in this area. A recent evaluation of Bereavement Support Services being delivered to prisoners in Northern Ireland reported the need for and the effectiveness of bereavement support and this is collaborated by current research and recent reports on the Prison Service. It also reported that such a bereavement service is essential for vulnerable and marginalised prisoners as part of the overall resettlement agenda.