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Independent Monitoring Boards annual report

Berwyn

Report year 2022 Published 5 Sep 2022 Type Prison, category Category C, Remand, Reception, Resettlement, Train Responsible body HMP Berwyn 4 recommendations

Original IMB report page ↗ Ministerial response, 7 Dec 2022 ↗ imb.org.uk ↗

The summary and positive findings below were written from the report by an AI model. The Board's own wording is in the report linked above.

Summary

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)
HMP Berwyn continues to be a safe establishment, though it faces significant challenges from staffing shortages, which impact regime delivery, purposeful activity, and key work. The Board notes improvements in resettlement outcomes and a reduction in serious assaults, alongside robust use of force data collection. Key concerns remain the long waiting times for dental care and mental health transfers, as well as the poor timeliness in responding to prisoner complaints.

Positive findings

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)
The Board considers HMP Berwyn a safe establishment with generally courteous staff-prisoner relationships and good quality accommodation. Healthcare provision is comparable to the community, and the new resettlement hub and related initiatives have shown positive results in reducing homelessness upon release and increasing employment. Improvements in staff recruitment, reduced serious assaults, robust use of force data collection, and a decrease in drug throwovers are also positive. The CSU is particularly well-run with empathetic staff.

Recommendations

All 4 recommendations

Key concerns

All 8 key concerns

Recommendations 4 items

Recommendations were extracted from the report by AI, and responses and their status from the ministerial response by AI. Each recommendation shows whether its wording has been checked against the report.

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Other, minister · Topic: Staffing

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The Board is concerned at the lack of sufficient staff, which is the biggest destabilising factor in the prison. We hope to see increased funding to help recruit and retain frontline operational staff.

Source text verified

Recommendation 2

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Staffing

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The Board is concerned that the establishment is regularly impacted by staffing shortages, causing restricted regimes and impacting upon important initiatives such as key work.

Source text verified

Recommendation 3

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Purposeful Activity

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The Board is concerned that workshops were not fully operational in this reporting period.

Source text verified

Recommendation 4

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Staff Training

Recommendation (the Board's words)
As the prison population ages, the Board would like to see training for staff on recognising and dealing with dementia and other age-related needs.

Source text verified

Key concerns 8 items

Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.

Key concern 1

Staffing

Lack of sufficient staff, which is the biggest destabilising factor in the prison.

Key concern 2

Regime/Time Out of Cell

Staffing shortages regularly impact the establishment, causing restricted regimes and impacting upon important initiatives such as key work.

Key concern 3

Education/Purposeful Activity

Workshops were not fully operational in this reporting period.

Key concern 4

Equality/Diversity

As the prison population ages, the Board would like to see training for staff on recognising and dealing with dementia and other age-related needs.

Key concern 5

Healthcare

Therefore, the services offered may not be adequate, with the wait times for dental care, for instance, operating at 12 months.

Key concern 6

Mental Health

There are long waiting times for transfer to secure mental health facilities due to a lack of beds in receiving establishments.

Key concern 7

Complaints/Property

Only 46% of all complaints in 2021 received responses within the nationally prescribed target time.

Key concern 8

Regime/Time Out of Cell

Reduced operational capacity for transfers to other prisons continues to be an area of concern, impacted by Covid-19 related reductions in operational staffing.

Safety statistics

Incidents during the reporting year.

IndicatorThis yearPrevious
Deaths in custody2not recorded
Self-harm incidents1,6381,431
ACCT cases opened850958
Prisoner assaults405301
Assaults on staff242not recorded
Use of force1,5381,326

Population

Operational capacity2,106
CNA (designed for)2,106

Applications to the IMB

CategoryCurrentPrevious
Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions 54 40
Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) 6 11
Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions 28 37
Equality 10 11
Finance, including pay, private monies, spends 19 16
Food and kitchens 5 13
Health, including physical, mental, social care 110 135
Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions 48 72
Miscellaneous, including complaints system 97 98
Property during transfer or in another establishment or location 28 9
Property within this establishment 60 40
Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell 22 34
Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation 96 81
Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying 72 86
Transfers 34 22

Report details

Establishment
Berwyn
Type
Prison, category Category C, Remand, Reception, Resettlement, Train
Report year
2022
Published
5 September 2022
Responsible body
HMP Berwyn
Recommendations
4
MoJ rating (2025/26)
2, Concern

Service providers

ServiceProvider
EducationNovus Cambria/Coleg Berwyn
HealthcareBetsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
LibraryWrexham County Borough Council
MaintenanceAmey

Related inspections and investigations

HMIP inspection, 27 Jan 2025

Unannounced · Safety 2 · Respect 3 · Activity 2 · Release 3

HMIP inspection, 23 May 2022

Unannounced

Luke Jones

Prevention of future deaths report · 3 Dec 2019 · Alcohol, drug and medication related deaths; State Custody related deaths; Wales prevention of future deaths reports (2019 onwards)

Other reports for Berwyn

2026

Published 10 Jul 2026 · Key concerns recorded

2025

Published 15 Aug 2025 · Self-harm 1,689 · Key concerns recorded

2024

Published 21 Aug 2024 · Population 2,000 · Self-harm 1,320 · Key concerns recorded

2023

Published 9 Aug 2023 · Population 1,823 · Self-harm 941 · Key concerns recorded

2021

Published 28 Sep 2021 · Population 1,725 · Self-harm 1,431 · Key concerns recorded

2020

Published 17 Sep 2020 · Self-harm 1,006 · Key concerns recorded