IN spite of being the oldest prison in the country, HMP Shepton Mallet is doing a good job, according to the Independent Monitoring Board's annual report.

The prison, which is 400 years old this year, has suffered from budget cuts over the past three years, resulting in reduced educational and work opportunities for prisoners. However, the board praises the management and staff for minimising impact on the daily running of the establishment. Even a reduction in teaching time did not deter the 189 prisoners from clocking-up more than 400 separate qualifications in the last academic year.