WORCESTERSHIRE'S Long Lartin jail has been told there is room for improvement by inspectors.
The new Prisons Performance Rating table announced yesterday awarded the jail three marks out of four.
The Commissioner for Correctional Services, Martin Narey, said the prison, near Evesham, was meeting most of the targets set by the Prison Service and delivering a "reasonable and decent regime".
But improvements are needed if Long Lartin wants to win the freedoms available to top-scoring prisons.
Those ranked "high performing" will be in-line for extra money to reward their staff or invest in the jail, and will be awarded a special plaque.
They will also have "increased certainty" over future funding levels, a Prison Service spokesman said.
The Prison Service now plans to publish the league tables every three months.
Jails which score only one mark will effectively be "named and shamed".
In the list, Brixton, Dartmoor and Holloway came bottom.
Mr Narey hailed the tables as a good indicator for the public.
"The Prisons Performance Rating table shows how prisons are performing against a range of indicators and clearly demonstrates where the public are getting value for money and where there is room for improvement," he said.
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