respect to the incidents of ill-treatment in prisons. The response further outlines a range of measures taken or planned by the authorities to address the issue, including, inter alia, reinforcing internal oversight mechanisms, setting up a register for injuries inflicted in detention facilities, and instructing health-care staff to immediately inform the relevant prosecutor’s office of identified injuries. 34. Despite the efforts of the Bulgarian authorities to further reduce overcrowd­ ing, it remained a problem in prisons and closed-type prison hostels and there was still no progress as regards the construction or renovation of the prison estate that would allow for the capacity of the prison to be expanded. As regards material conditions of detention, the three prisons visited by the delegation demonstrated an ever-worsening and advanced state of dilapidation and insalubrity. Furthermore, corruption remained endemic in the Bulgarian prison system and the vast majority of prisoners interviewed claimed that they were asked to pay custodial, administrative, and/or medical staff for being granted various privileges or even for many services provided for by the law. In their response, the Bulgarian authori­ ties refer to the measures proposed by the working group set up in response to the pilot judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, Neshkov and Others v. Bulgaria (concerning detention conditions in prisons and the effectiveness of the remedies by which prisoners are able to seek redress for those conditions), such as an individual approach as regards the initial allocation of sentenced prisoners, changes in the procedure of conditional release, the implementation of electronic monitoring and the introduction of a preventive remedy. The Committee was also provided with information on refurbishment carried out in Sofia Prison and on plans to open two closed-type prison hostels in 2016. As regards combating corruption, the Bulgarian authorities inform the Committee that the Directors of all three prisons visited have been changed and that a number of measures to fight corruption have been or will be undertaken. 35. The situation as regards the devel­ opment of a proper regime of activities for persons held both in investigation detention facilities and in prisons was still very unsatisfactory. The CPT urges the Bulgarian authorities to intensify their efforts to develop the programme of activities for both sentenced and remand prisoners, notably as regards work, educational and vocational activities. In their response, the Bulgarian authori­ ties inform the Committee that possibilities to increase the range of activities for prisoners are being sought, including through co-operation with other ministries and non-governmental organisations. 36. The accessibility and quality of the health-care services in all the establishments visited were as poor as in previous visits, and medical confidentiality was still not being respected. The staffing situation rendered the provision of health care virtually impossible. The CPT calls upon the Bulgarian authorities to take urgent steps to reinforce the health-care services and, more gen­erally, to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy for the provision of health care in the prison system. In their response, the Bulgarian authori­ ties acknowledge the long-standing problems as regards the provision of health care in prisons and inform the Publication highlights ► Page 17