A new report from the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has raised significant concerns about fire safety across the prison estate in England, calling for greater transparency, stronger regulatory oversight and improvements to fire detection systems.

The 41-page report, Fire Safety in Prisons, published on 5 November, highlights the ongoing fire risks within prisons and calls on His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to take further action to address longstanding fire safety concerns.

According to the report, 2,932 fires were recorded in prisons during 2024–2025, underlining the importance of effective fire prevention, detection and protection measures.

In March, HMPPS confirmed that it would no longer meet its commitment to install automatic fire detection systems in all prison cells in England by the end of 2027. The delays were attributed to historic underinvestment, the collapse of a contractor and ongoing capacity pressures across the prison estate.

The Committee expressed concern that this was not the first delay to the programme, highlighting repeated changes to delivery timelines and questioning whether the challenges could have been anticipated and addressed sooner.

In response, the Committee has recommended that the Government publish updated plans for the installation of automatic fire detection systems and provide progress reports to Parliament at least annually. This would help ensure greater transparency, accountability and scrutiny of the programme.

Strengthening fire prevention measures

The report also acknowledges the importance of preventative measures in reducing the number of fires within prisons.

In particular, the Committee recognised the positive impact of HMPPS's Safer Vape Pen Project, which introduced vape pens with built-in safety features designed to reduce the risk of deliberate fire setting. The initiative has contributed to a significant reduction in fires associated with these devices.

The Committee encourages the Government to build on successful initiatives by promoting the sharing of best practice and supporting the wider implementation of effective fire prevention measures.

However, the report also highlights the need to address wider contributing factors, including overcrowding, limited mental health support and a lack of purposeful activity, which can increase the risk of fires occurring.

The findings reinforce the importance of a comprehensive approach to fire safety that combines preventative measures with effective fire detection, protection and management arrangements.

Calls for stronger regulatory oversight

The Committee has also raised concerns about the current regulatory framework governing fire safety in publicly operated prisons.

As Crown Premises, these establishments benefit from Crown Immunity, which generally prevents criminal prosecution for breaches of certain legislation, including fire safety requirements.

Responsibility for inspecting fire safety arrangements in prisons and other Crown Premises sits with the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate (CPFSI). However, the report highlights concerns about the Inspectorate's limited resources and enforcement powers, noting that it has just 11 members of staff.

To strengthen oversight and accountability, the Committee recommends increasing the CPFSI's resources and enforcement powers, alongside a review of how Crown Immunity applies to fire safety in prisons.

The report suggests that the current arrangements may present barriers to achieving improvements in fire safety standards across the prison estate.

The importance of effective fire safety arrangements

The Committee's findings highlight the need for sustained investment in fire safety, effective regulatory oversight and clear accountability to ensure that appropriate protection measures are in place across the prison estate.

Automatic fire detection systems play an important role in providing early warning of fire, particularly in environments where evacuation can be complex and occupants may be dependent on staff assistance.

The report reinforces the importance of addressing delays to essential fire safety improvements, alongside strengthening prevention strategies and ensuring that fire safety arrangements remain appropriate to the risks present.

Lack of transparency

Lord Foster of Bath, chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee in the House of Lords, said: “HMPPS has demonstrated a lack of transparency regarding progress on fire safety in prisons. It’s deeply disappointing that it has required Freedom of Information requests and litigation from external partners such as the Howard League to secure information on progress to introduce automatic fire detection systems in particular and fire safety improvement works more generally. The argument from HMPPS that it would be ‘unwise’ to predict when works will be completed suggests either a lack of candour, a lack of competence or, indeed, both.”

Lord Foster continued: “The fire at HMP Highpoint [a Category C prison in Suffolk] at the tail end of April this year shows how effectively HMPPS staff and the Emergency Services can respond to a fire that’s potentially very serious. However, we are alarmed at the discrepancy between what senior leaders at HMPPS are telling us versus prison officers and governors regarding fire drills and training. We fear that, without a resolution to the prison staffing crisis and rigorous and dedicated fire safety training, the response at HMP Highpoint risks becoming the exception rather than the norm.”

In addition, Lord Foster commented: “We believe that stronger oversight is essential as in several cases senior HMPPS officials seemed complacent regarding fire safety in prison. They assured us that progress was being made on introducing fire safety equipment despite long and repeated delays to this process taking place. They were not aware of prevention practices being developed in prisons and appeared to have no plans in place for how to identify and disseminate good practice.”

Concerns over policy

Lord Foster explained: “Officials were also unaware of concerns raised by the regulator regarding their fire safety policies and appeared to misunderstand the powers held by the regulator. Problems cannot be promptly addressed and change delivered if there’s no drive among leaders to do so. The House of Lords Committee saw in HMPPS officials a recognition of the problem, but not the restless determination required to swiftly rectify the situation.”

In conclusion, Lord Foster affirmed: “We hope that the Government will take our recommendations seriously in order to save lives. We look forward to receiving a response.”

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