Decision report 201201411

Summary

Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that his clothing was being returned wet from the prison laundry. He then complained to us that the prison did not investigate this complaint appropriately.

In response to Mr C's complaint, the prison had outlined the laundry process. They explained that once clothing had been washed, the items would be put into the dryer for a minimum period of an hour. The prison said that they received few complaints about the laundry but acknowledged that issues like Mr C's complaint occasionally came to light. When we investigated they confirmed the laundry process had been reviewed, and as a result, there was now increased monitoring of the drying process. Although prison staff do not open the sealed individual laundry bags, they do check, as far as possible, that the items in them are dry. They also said that if a prisoner found that his washing was too wet, he could alert a member of staff and the items could be returned to be put through the drying process again. We were satisfied the prison investigated Mr C's complaint appropriately and took appropriate action.