Recommendation 1
What plans are there to ensure that design omissions in this new design prison are addressed in future builds?
Source · IMB Annual Report
Five Wells
AI-generated report summary HMP Five Wells, a Category C prison, opened in February 2022 and housed 1200 prisoners by March 2023, below its operational capacity of 1680. The IMB noted successes such as positive visitor feedback and streamlined safeguarding, but raised significant concerns including widespread illicit items, severe staffing shortages, and numerous design flaws in the new build. Key areas needing development involve consistent regime application, improved food and canteen services, and the re-establishment of resettlement-focused programmes like ROTL.
Year: 2023
Published: 12 Sep 2023
Type: Prison · Cat C
Population: 1,200
Recommendations: 14
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 2 | — |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThe Board welcomed the successful introduction of integrated wings for the general population and prisoners convicted of sexual offences. The standard of wing accommodation is good, with prompt attention to critical maintenance issues. Healthcare needs are generally met, and the safeguarding process has been streamlined. The prison has shown good engagement with local businesses, offering numerous employment opportunities for those approved for ROTL. Visitor feedback on the overall experience and family engagement events is overwhelmingly positive.
Key concerns
The Board is concerned about the number and range of illicit items found in the prison. Drugs seem to be available on most houseblocks.
A high proportion of operational staff have less than one year’s service and staff shortages mean they have little support.
There are a number of design faults, eg, low mobility cells on each wing cannot be occupied for safety reasons, air flow on the landings is poor and the original gym location was unsuitable.
The application of the incentives scheme has been inconsistent, with enforcement dependent on the confidence and knowledge of staff on duty.
The Board received many complaints from prisoners about the quality, quantity, and range of choices for food. There have been instances when the Board has observed food shortages and occasionally some prisoners going without meals.
The canteen system, serviced by DHL, has been a major cause for concern, including the standard and shortage of items, and delays in prisoners receiving refunds.
There has been inconsistent management of the segregation unit, with a regime which did not clearly distinguish between rights and privileges. Damage to cells in the unit resulted in one third being out of action at the end of the year.
There is little evidence of key worker support, and the roll-out is behind schedule.
Only one of the two medication hatches has been commissioned on each houseblock, leading to delays of up to two hours and regime disruption.
Wheelchairs are not always available, and no maintenance system for the wheelchairs is in place.
Education provision had a slow start due to difficulties in recruiting tutors and a lengthy clearance process. Some vocational workshops were not equipped, and some had insufficient power supply.
The allocation procedure has been problematic, and prisoners were not always allocated an appropriate course in line with their resettlement plan. A recent survey indicates 23% of prisoners did not choose the course they are on.
Attendance in vocational workshops and education averaged at 56%, partly due to inconsistencies in penalising non-attendance.
The Head of Education has raised serious concerns about the safety of staff in his department.
Vocational training provision is behind schedule which has limited work opportunities for prisoners.
Original and revised Key Working targets have not been met.
ROTL has been suspended.
Intervention programmes have not been delivered as anticipated.
What plans are there to ensure that design omissions in this new design prison are addressed in future builds?
Staffing, equipment, and facilities were not all in place when the prison opened, and discrepancies remain. How can this situation be avoided in the future?
The Board is concerned that many prisoners were transferred to Five Wells with the promise of an experience that was not available on arrival. This caused problems for prisoners and staff and affected their progression. What steps can be taken to prevent this happening in the future?
A significant number of prisoners transferred to Five Wells were not suitable for what the prison had to offer. What steps can be taken to minimise this practice?
Key work support has been eroded by staffing shortages and operational requirements. What steps are being taken to ensure prisoners get the support they need?
Loss of property (particularly for inter-prison transfers) is problematic and creates anxiety for prisoners and extra work for staff. What immediate steps are being taken to address this?
How will the prison improve the canteen system? The Board considers the distribution and processing of missing items and refund process unworkable, time consuming and not fit for purpose.
What action can be taken to address concerns about the Prisoner Led Initiative (PLI) activities? The Board considers that whilst much of the work has had a positive impact, there are serious concerns (expressed by both prisoners and staff) about the methods of recruitment, selection, management, and supervision of some individuals.
The Board’s rota reports have highlighted that inconsistencies and frequent changes in regime have undermined the running of the houseblocks, with some staff feeling unsupported and lacking the confidence to enforce where necessary. What action will be taken to remedy this?
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
Staffing, equipment, and facilities were not all in place when the prison opened, and discrepancies remain. How can this situation be avoided in the future?
Recommendation 3
The Board is concerned that many prisoners were transferred to Five Wells with the promise of an experience that was not available on arrival. This caused problems for prisoners and staff and affected their progression. What steps can be taken to prevent this happening in the future?
Recommendation 4
A significant number of prisoners transferred to Five Wells were not suitable for what the prison had to offer. What steps can be taken to minimise this practice?
Recommendation 5
Key work support has been eroded by staffing shortages and operational requirements. What steps are being taken to ensure prisoners get the support they need?
Recommendation 6
Loss of property (particularly for inter-prison transfers) is problematic and creates anxiety for prisoners and extra work for staff. What immediate steps are being taken to address this?
Recommendation 7
What steps are being taken to ensure a good standard of food is available for prisoners, and food safety requirements are met?
Recommendation 8
How will the prison improve the canteen system? The Board considers the distribution and processing of missing items and refund process unworkable, time consuming and not fit for purpose.
Recommendation 9
What action can be taken to address concerns about the Prisoner Led Initiative (PLI) activities? The Board considers that whilst much of the work has had a positive impact, there are serious concerns (expressed by both prisoners and staff) about the methods of recruitment, selection, management, and supervision of some individuals.
Recommendation 10
The Board’s rota reports have highlighted that inconsistencies and frequent changes in regime have undermined the running of the houseblocks, with some staff feeling unsupported and lacking the confidence to enforce where necessary. What action will be taken to remedy this?
Recommendation 11
What steps are being taken to ensure the consistent application, management, and review of the incentives scheme?
Recommendation 12
What steps are being taken to ensure that prisoners attend their allocated purposeful activity and, if returned, or refusing to attend, that there is consistency in the action taken?
Recommendation 13
What security measures are being implemented to limit the number of illicit items found on the premises?
Recommendation 14
What steps are being taken to safely reinstate the ROTL programme?
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 13 | — |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 23 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 9 | — |
| Equality | 0 | — |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 21 | — |
| Food and kitchens | 12 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 18 | — |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 23 | — |
| Miscellaneous | 45 | — |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 43 | — |
| Property within the establishment | 40 | — |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 10 | — |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 22 | — |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 15 | — |
| Transfers | 3 | — |
Related inspections & investigations
Safety 2
· Respect 2
· Activity 1
· Release 3
Nicholas Lowe · Other non-natural
Anthony Foster · Natural causes
Other reports for Five Wells
Population 1,757
· Self-harm 1,603
· Concerns
Population 1,735
· Self-harm 2,326
· Concerns
Population 1,700
· Concerns