NOTTINGHAM Prison has been criticised for overcrowding.

In a new report, its Independent Monitoring Board said the number of prisoners on remand at the jail was a major contributor to overcrowding and increased pressure on staff.

The report also said that of prisoners on remand, about 30 per cent were not given a prison sentence after their trial.

The board's 2009-10 annual report also raises other concerns which have led to overcrowding. These include prisoners being recalled due to minor breaches, problems with home detention curfews, and prisoners under intensive supervision, who cannot do a required course to make them eligible for release.

But the chairman of the Independent Monitoring Board, Colin Burnett, said reviewing how prisoners on remand were dealt with could lead to the greatest improvement.

"These people go to prison, which takes up time and space, but then 30 per cent of those will be released after their trial," he said.

"This means the time and space they take up is basically a waste and with that in mind perhaps the current system for dealing with prisoners who need to be held on remand needs to be reviewed.

"I do appreciate the difficulties of this because the prison system is so full and Nottingham Prison has doubled in size to help this, but it would also help if fewer prisoners were held on remand.

"I'm not saying there's a simple answer to it but maybe the judiciary should look at the conditions for remand."

Putting a person in jail costs the taxpayer £35,000 a year.

And in the face of imminent Government cuts, Mr Burnett said it was particularly important to look at the issue now. "Nationally there have already been cuts across the prison service and there are more cuts to come," he said.

"With this in mind the prison is having to cut its costs accordingly and that's giving cause for concern because we do not want there to be a situation where there's only one officer on the wing at a time because if there was a problem, one would not be enough."

Concerns were also raised about the risk of prisoners spending more time locked in cells and the effects of staffing efficiency measures.

The Ministry of Justice has not yet given a full response to the report.

Prison governor Peter Wright said the report's concern about overcrowding was a "point well made".

He added: "The everyday reality of an extensively expanded establishment like Nottingham is that inmates have experience of sharing a cell. To change this would require a reduction in the prison population."

In April this year, The Post reported how prison officers had sought crisis talks with governors claiming they were scared for their safety because of under-staffing.