Key concerns 13 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year
The Board is still concerned regarding cell sharing, which has been going on for too many years, questioning if it is fair or humane for prisoners to share cells designed for single occupancy, especially given they eat meals and use the toilet in their cells.
Key concern 2
Resettlement/Release
Prisoners often have difficulty in accessing their offender manager or indeed knowing who their offender manager actually is, including their Personal Offender Manager (POM) Officer.
Key concern 3
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Purposeful activity is sometimes poor, and the high churn of short-sentence prisoners means many cannot access or complete courses for rehabilitation or skilled work due to insufficient time or transfer/release.
Key concern 4
Resettlement/Release
There is a sense of helplessness and hopelessness for many IPP sentenced prisoners, especially for those detained for many years after a recall.
Key concern 5
Mental Health
Prisoners with severe mental health issues are kept too long in the prison environment and not transferred to appropriate mental health institutions, with very long waiting times in excess of 28 days.
Key concern 6
Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year
Rehabilitation and release planning could be better, as HMP Ranby appears to be neither a full training prison nor a full resettlement prison at this time, compounded by overcrowding and a high churn of short-sentence prisoners.
Key concern 7
Complaints/Property
Many instances where prisoners have not had refunds from DHL, particularly when coming to HMP Ranby from other prisons, which builds up tensions.
Key concern 8
Food/Catering
The daily budget for food is currently £2.17 per prisoner, which kitchen staff find difficult to provide a balanced and interesting diet, leading to many complaints about the quality and quantity of food.
Key concern 9
Complaints/Property
Canteen has also not been delivered in accordance with what was ordered by the prisoner, and delays in refunds adversely affect the attitudes and morale of prisoners, indicating a need for much better contract management at a higher level.
Key concern 10
Staffing
Although there are currently 48 band 3 operational officers in their probationary year (see Staff Matters 3.2),12 staff have left within their first year of service. The Board questions whether the current method of recruitment is satisfactory given 25% have left in the first year? What steps can the Prison Service take to ensure that the numbers of experienced staff are maintained at adequate levels?
Key concern 11
Complaints/Property · Repeated from a previous year
Loss of property is one of the biggest issues reported by prisoners during this reporting year. Many times, their belongings seem to go missing during transfers from other establishments. There is often a long wait for prisoners to be reunited with their property. This makes them frustrated and angry with the system. When property is finally deemed as lost it would appear that prisoners are having difficulty in claiming compensation. Does the Prison Service have plans to address this issue in the future?
Key concern 12
Complaints/Property
Many issues become formal complaints (Comp 1 and Comp 1As) which could and should have been dealt with at community level, and responses are still an issue in both timescale and quality.
Key concern 13
Other
The Board’s ability to effectively monitor the prison has been significantly impacted by not having the tools for the job, including no clerk available for Board Meetings, non-attendance by Governor, old and unserviceable office equipment, and an unserviceable boiler in the portacabin.