VILLEFRANCHE SUR SAÔNE (RECOMMENDATIONS) sentence, in a form of cul-de-sac difficult both for the prisoner and for the prison staff. By using the principle of volunteers for designating the staff assigned to those with a ‘programme’, the situation is simply aggravated by placing the staff also into an unjustified system of segregation. If individual prison programmes are to be implemented, it must be on condition that concrete proposals be genuinely available to all prisoners without exception, and that the corresponding resources be put in place. 2/ The ability for prisoners to appeal against decisions that affect them seems to be ineffectively applied: any letter can be opened by the person against whom the prisoner is complaining; there is no guarantee letters will arrive at their destination; letters can remain unanswered. It is true that some letters are abusive, and many will not achieve their aims. Nevertheless, however clumsy or error-strewn, prisoners’ requests should not be simply ignored. In the absence of any response, violent and unpredictable protests are inevitable in the short or medium term - indeed the absence of any response is ample justification in the eyes of those involved. All prisoners have the right of recourse to the prison authorities, as described in the European Prison Rules (rule  70.1); they must have the means of exercising this right. To this end, prisoners (including those who cannot write) must be given access to the means of communicating; the letters must be delivered directly to the addressee; the necessary confidentiality must be granted; a reasoned response must be provided. Considerable efforts need to be made in this area. 3/ Similarly, it is clear that the directors of these institutions and their deputies carry out their responsibilities in difficult conditions. They are responsible for managing the staff, the physical installations in the facility, discussions and meetings with those who have dealings with the prison and, naturally, fulfilling the missions that are implied by the nature of the institutions for which they are responsible. This multitude of tasks should not hide the fact that the essential item is a thorough knowledge of the establishment and of the people within. In this area, it is not acceptable that they delegate responsibility to just senior detention management (heads of detention and prison officers). It is important that they have a deep understanding of the prisoners and that they provide the prison staff with all the support they need. 11