Prison reform was making slow but consistent progress, the Junior Minister of Justice and Finance assured the House of Assembly.

Dennis Lister III said recruitment efforts were “actively under way” while existing staff went through work development programmes.

He added that while some concerns such as officer safety and the risk levels tied to assaults had not “measurably decreased”, the groundwork was being laid.

Mr Lister said: “We will report real data on internationally accepted standards on a consistent quarterly basis, as this House deserves honest measurement.”

Mr Lister was speaking after Robert King, the Shadow Minister of National Security, posed questions about progress made with prison reform plans.

Mr King referenced the Department of Corrections’ review by an independent international panel.

Mr Lister reminded the House that the report had 75 recommendations — all of which, he added, were being “actioned through a live post-inspection action plan”.

He said these plans were developed by the Department of Corrections and the Prison Officers Association with help from the UK Ministry of Justice.

Mr Lister said a team from His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service was overseeing security enhancements, while the Department of Works and Engineering prioritised “security-critical repairs” to fix.

“Trend data on assaults and violence will come to this House through the quarterly reporting cycle,” the junior minister added.

Regarding rehabilitative measures, Mr Lister said Apace courses with the Bermuda College were available to inmates and that additional programmes were scheduled for September.

He added that Narcotics Anonymous was extended to inmates on remand for the first time, while Right Living House continued offering drug rehabilitation support.

When asked about the measures’ effectiveness, Mr Lister said assessing it now would be “premature”.

However, he added that performance indicators would be established, measured and presented to the House “once implementation matures”.

Mr Lister later said insufficient time has passed for any recidivism to be measured.

Mr King asked how the data from the review was going to be used and what the group’s key performance indicators and aimed level of reduction percentage were.

Mr Lister said he would have to defer this to the Ministry of Justice.

Mr King then asked if the Government sought independent implementation oversight from any corrections authorities to make sure recommendations were properly implemented.

Mr Lister responded: “The Ministry of Justice has established an oversight committee drawn from the Department of Corrections Prison Officers Association and relevant subject matter experts.

“Additionally, there are regular engagements, virtual and on-island, with a UK Ministry of Justice representative, who is providing direct implementation support.

“An Overseas Territories prison adviser is co-ordinating specialist prison training.

“The HMPPS staff profiling team completed its workforce exercise on-island in May and two officers are enrolled in the overseas territories next generation prison leadership programme with UK-based investigation training.”

When asked if the parties responsible for oversight would stay in Bermuda to oversee the implementation, Mr Lister deferred to the Minister of Justice.