Equality/Diversity
Foreign national prisoners held in HMP Elmley lack formal engagement from the Home Office, particularly those on remand who are left in limbo with limited information and access to immigration authorities, sometimes leading to illegal detention and disorder.
Source wording under review
Estate/Conditions
Is it appropriate to spend money on accommodating an anticipated growth in the prison population when the fabric of the existing prison is desperately in need of attention?
Safety
Repeated
We agreed with this year’s HMIP inspection report comments that not enough was being done to understand and address the underlying causes of self-harm. We remarked on this in our last annual report, however the situation has improved since then.
Staffing
Significant staffing shortages persist across key departments, including the Offender Management Unit (OMU) and education, leading to heavy caseloads, reduced prisoner contact, and cancelled courses, while the IMB itself is operating with half its recommended complement.
Source wording under review
Regime/Time Out of Cell
There is a need for more activity spaces and skills-based tuition to fully engage prisoners in purposeful activities, as current shortages in trainers and physical spaces limit opportunities for all.
Source wording under review
Resettlement/Release
The visitors centre provision has recently been taken over from Spurgeons by Pact. It is early days but it seems that a much reduced service will be available for visitors in future which will inevitably impact on the quality of the visit for prisoners. There will no longer be refreshments for visitors when they arrive at the visitors centre, or staff to support them after a distressing visit. According to the information received by the Board, at this point it seems unlikely that the good work that Spurgeons did with families, such as positive parenting, the homework club and separation support, will continue. Given that maintaining and supporting family contact has long been considered to play an important part in the rehabilitation process, this seems counterproductive.