Source · IMB Annual Report
Swinfen Hall
Year: 2023
Published: 14 Sep 2023
Type: Prison · Cat Cat C, YOI
Population: 614
Recommendations: 9
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall, a Cat C training prison and YOI, reported a prisoner population of 614 at the end of April 2023. The Board observed positive movement towards increased prisoner support and a shared vision from the Governor and SLT, particularly in developing work opportunities. However, significant concerns remain regarding the restricted regime, with many prisoners experiencing 23-hour lock-ups, inadequate provision of basic items, and a persistent lack of sufficient secure mental health spaces leading to long transfer waits. The report also highlights issues with overloaded Offender Management Unit staff affecting prisoner progression, an understaffed Business Hub, and inconsistent quality in handling prisoner complaints and property issues.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
Positive findings
The Board noted positive movement in the prison's focus on increasing support for every prisoner, with the Governor and SLT sharing a vision for future improvements, including providing work places for up to 85% of the population. Individual Challenge, Support, and Intervention Plans (CSIPs) were well-documented and targeted, and the aftercare following a death in custody was exemplary. The use of prisoners as peacekeepers and the Keep the Peace strategy significantly reduced violence, and the prison's ethos on equality and diversity has improved. A new four-band incentives scheme motivated positive behaviour, the library now offers sessions to all wings, and good practice cases ensured prisoners moving to approved premises met staff in advance, with no prisoner released homeless despite lacking formal funding.
Key concerns
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
A regime that requires 23 hours a day to be spent in cell for many has been a continued concern.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The provision of basic items (such as toilet covers, toilet rolls, and curtains) and access to property in a reasonable timeframe has been a continued concern.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Access to purposeful activity remains limited for many prisoners, despite some improvements, hindering their progression and resettlement.
Staffing
Repeated
Probation Prison Offender Managers (POMS) are carrying excessive caseloads of up to 90 prisoners, when usually tasked with 60, adversely affecting OASys reports and interaction with OMU staff, leading to significant delays (up to 5 months).
Mental Health
There are serious concerns over the availability of appropriate mental health support for those in need who should be placed in NHS secure mental health units, leading to seriously mentally ill prisoners being held in prison, especially in segregation units, and long waiting times for approved transfers.
Staffing
Repeated
The Business Hub is understaffed and does not have the resources necessary to keep up with demand for essential prisoner services (PIN credit, approval of telephone numbers, property, canteen purchases, finance, complaints, IMB applications).
Complaints/Property
The quality and fairness of complaint responses vary significantly, with approximately 40% either left unanswered or receiving responses lacking the seriousness deserved. Issues include illegible handwritten replies and staff signatures.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board is not confident that the out-of-hours GP service will carry out night visits, which remains a concern from the previous year.
Healthcare
Repeated
Dentistry continues to be a particular concern, as increased initial appointments paradoxically lead to a greater backlog of required treatment.
Resettlement/Release
Swinfen Hall, as a Cat C training prison, lacks formal funding and resources to adequately support prisoners on direct release, leading to concerns about resettlement planning, especially for those less than 10 months from release who cannot transfer to a resettlement prison.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can the Minister liaise with other departments to create a detailed and funded plan for sufficient spaces in secure mental health units to reduce the number of seriously mentally ill being held in prison, especially in segregation units? | Ministry of Justice | |
| 1 | Will the prison service set and monitor national, publicly shared, targets for educational and training outcomes in young offender institutions, backed by professionally informed practice and proper data analysis? | HMPPS | |
| 1 | What action will be taken to improve the internal processes for the reception and onward delivery of prisoners’ property within Swinfen Hall? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 2 | Will the Minister explain how provision can be increased to ensure that waiting times for approved transfers to secure hospitals are reduced? | Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 | Will the prison service set and monitor effectively high-quality targets, and appropriate penalties, in third-party contracts for education, training and vocational skill delivery? | HMPPS | |
| 2 | What action will be taken to improve the handling of the clothing parcel process from initial application to safe delivery of the parcel? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 3 | What action will be taken to reduce the backlog of OASys reports that impacts negatively on outcomes for prisoners? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 4 | What action will be taken to improve the detection of weapons in the prison? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 5 | When will the Business Hub be fully resourced such that it can function adequately? (see para 6.7) Repeated | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 7 | 6 |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 9 | 0 |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 7 | 8 |
| Equality | 0 | 1 |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 14 | 18 |
| Food and kitchens | 2 | 3 |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 14 | 8 |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 5 | 15 |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 5 |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 6 | 23 |
| Property within the establishment | 37 | 36 |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 20 | 9 |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 23 | 33 |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 22 | 15 |
| Transfers | 26 | 37 |
Related inspections & investigations
20 Aug 2024
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 2
· Respect 2
· Activity 2
· Release 3
Other reports for Swinfen Hall
Report details
- Establishment
- Swinfen Hall
- Type
- Prison · Cat Cat C, YOI
- Report year
- 2023
- Published
- 14 September 2023
- Responsible body
- HMP Swinfen Hall
- Recommendations
- 9
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 2 — Concern
Population
| Population | 614 |
Service providers
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group
Mental Health and Psychosocial Substance Misuse
Midland Partnership National Health Service Foundation Trust ('Inclusion' team)