Key concerns 20 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Other · Repeated from a previous year
The loss or delay of prisoners’ property in transfer between establishments is still a concern for the Board, as it was in our last report in 2022.
Key concern 2
Other · Repeated from a previous year
There has been no improvement in the management of prisoners’ property within the prison, and the Board would also like to see an improvement in the handling of prisoners’ parcels within the security framework.
Key concern 3
Estate/Conditions · Repeated from a previous year
The service provided by Gov Facility Services Ltd (GFSL) is still a major cause for concern. The Board, once again, requests an urgent review of the works maintenance contract to ensure it fully meets the ongoing needs of a challenging prison environment.
Key concern 4
Safety · Repeated from a previous year
As noted in our last report, the netting that blew down in a storm is slowly being replaced (in most units). The prison is still vulnerable to ‘throw-overs’ and the increased opportunity for contraband to get into the prison, which has a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the prisoners.
Key concern 5
Substance Misuse
Drug debt and fermenting liquids to brew prison alcohol are a major concern and we welcome the strategies being implemented to counteract this.
Key concern 6
Segregation
One of the constant-watch cells is in the Segregation Unit, which is considered inappropriate.
Key concern 7
Safety
The IMB remains concerned that body worn video cameras (BWVC) are not always activated, or activated promptly, during a UoF force incident, despite their use being directed.
Key concern 8
Safety
Incidents of disorder, in many of the categories reported to the IMB, continued to show a significant increase in prevalence.
Key concern 9
Substance Misuse
Phoenix Futures practitioners report that drug debt is one of the main drivers of violence in the establishment. The Board is concerned about the correlation between the reported increase in violent incidents in 2023 and the increase in drug debt during the same period.
Key concern 10
Substance Misuse
The Board remains concerned that drugs continue to get into the prison. Intelligence on the supply of drugs is ever changing, with routes that are cut off being replaced by other ones.
Key concern 11
Safety
The IMB is concerned that netting installed to prevent throw-overs, which came down in storms some years ago, has still not been replaced around units 5 and 10, due to lack of funding.
Key concern 12
Safety
The IMB has raised concerns with the Governor and at security meetings that regular searching of staff and Board members entering the prison is not undertaken.
Key concern 13
Substance Misuse
During 2023, there has been a steady increase in the number of prisoners being found under the influence (UTI).
Key concern 14
Estate/Conditions · Repeated from a previous year
The works being carried out by GFSL are still not done in a timely manner (see the IMB 2022 annual report).
Key concern 15
Food/Catering
Bidfood, the food company, substitutes items it cannot supply, which makes it very difficult for kitchen staff to adhere to the agreed menus and, therefore, last-minute changes have to be made to the menus.
Key concern 16
Food/Catering
The Board notes that servery orderlies do not always wear the appropriate protective clothing.
Key concern 17
Mental Health
The bereavement counselling service, provided in the main by the charity Cruse Bereavement Support. This was frequently oversubscribed and not enough counsellors were available to meet the demand.
Key concern 18
Complaints/Property
The Board has been advised that a prisoner can no longer telephone the IPCI and must communicate by letter. This causes problems for those prisoners who have difficulty with writing.
Key concern 19
Staffing
The officer assigned to work 17.5 hours across the diversity, inclusion and social care team, is often redeployed, which can slow down the referral process for social care.
Key concern 20
Healthcare
The speed of referrals is further hampered by the online portal being ‘user unfriendly’.