–6– assessed and if appropriate a new plan developed. The longer a person remains in this situation, the more thorough the review should be and the more resources, including resources external to the prison, made available to attempt to (re)integrate the prisoner into the main prison community. The prisoner should be entitled to require a review at any time and to obtain independent reports for such a review. The prison director or senior members of staff should make a point of visiting such prisoners daily and familiarise themselves with the individual plans. Medical staff should also pay particular attention to prisoners held under these conditions. (d) Solitary confinement for protection purposes “Own request” protection cases raise fewer questions than those ordered to go on protection by staff, but they still need some consideration. The CPT considers that all the alternatives, including transferring to another prison either the individual prisoner in need of protection or the prisoners causing the problem, mediation and assertiveness training, should be tried first and the full consequences of a decision to go on protection explained to the prisoner. Of course, a request from any prisoner on voluntary protection to return to the mainstream should be considered and granted if this can be safely done. Those who are placed on protection against their will should have the right to play a full part in the discussion of the decision and to proffer alternative solutions. They should be given a full explanation of the decision and the opportunity to challenge it at a higher level. The decision should be reviewed on a regular basis so that solitary confinement can be ended as soon as it is no longer necessary. Material conditions in solitary confinement 58. The cells used for solitary confinement should meet the same minimum standards as those applicable to other prisoner accommodation. Thus, they should be of an adequate size, enjoy access to natural light and be equipped with artificial lighting (in both cases sufficient to read by), and have adequate heating and ventilation. They should also be equipped with a means of communication with prison staff. Proper arrangements should be made for the prisoners to meet the needs of nature in a decent fashion at all times and to shower at least as often as prisoners in normal regime. Prisoners held in solitary confinement should be allowed to wear normal prison clothing and the food provided to them should be the normal prison diet, including special diets when required. As for the exercise area used by such prisoners, it should be sufficiently large to enable them genuinely to exert themselves and should have some means of protection from the elements. 59. All too often, CPT delegations find that one or more of these basic requirements are not met, in particular in respect of prisoners undergoing solitary confinement as a disciplinary sanction. For example, the cells designed for this type of solitary confinement are sometimes located in basement areas, with inadequate access to natural light and ventilation and prone to dampness. And it is not unusual for the cells to be too small, sometimes measuring as little as 3 to 4 m²; in this connection, the CPT wishes to stress that any cell measuring less than 6 m² should be withdrawn from service as prisoner accommodation. The exercise areas used by the prisoners concerned are also frequently inadequate. 60. It is common practice for cells accommodating prisoners undergoing solitary confinement as a punishment to have a limited amount of furniture, which is often secured to the floor. Nevertheless, such cells should be equipped, as a minimum, with a table, adequate seating for the daytime (i.e. a chair or bench), and a proper bed and bedding at night.