Source · IMB Annual Report
Whitemoor
Year: 2022
Published: 1 Nov 2022
Type: Prison · Cat A, B
Population: 316
Recommendations: 6
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Whitemoor, a maximum-security prison for Categories A and B men, faced significant challenges in the reporting year ending May 2022, primarily due to a severe staffing crisis affecting all areas, including healthcare. This led to compromised regimes, particularly in the overcrowded segregation unit where severely unwell prisoners were held awaiting hospital transfer, and an inadequate purposeful activity and education offer. The Board also noted persistent issues with food provision and long waiting times for specialist healthcare appointments.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 2 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 151 | 188 |
| ACCT cases opened | 119 | 202 |
| Prisoner assaults | 22 | 28 |
| Assaults on staff | 27 | 49 |
| Use of force | 303 | 240 |
Positive findings
The Board welcomes the successful return to a Stage 1 regime and the well-managed electrical upgrading project. There has been an increase in prisoner downgrades and improved ACCT arrangements. The prison maintains a positive culture of communication and has restored partnerships for cultural and educational activities, and introduced initiatives like the healthcare garden and Pets as Therapy dogs. The key worker scheme shows commitment, and there is an increased focus on timely complaint responses.
Key concerns
Staffing
Staffing crisis, including rapid turnover and a high proportion of inexperienced officers, leading to compromised key work sessions and difficulties in building relationships.
Segregation
Repeated
The segregation unit habitually runs significantly over its allocated capacity, leading to continuous regime restrictions where prisoners are routinely forced to choose two of the three essential daily elements (shower, exercise, or a phone call).
Mental Health
Repeated
Poor mental health provision and staffing shortages within the mental health team, leading to acutely unwell prisoners being held in segregation for extended periods while awaiting secure hospital transfers.
Food/Catering
Difficulty in meeting the basic need of food that is adequate in quantity and nutritional balance, compounded by catering staff shortages, equipment breakdowns, and an inadequate daily food budget of £2.08 per head.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Struggles to re-establish a culture of purposeful activity and education, with a significant reliance on in-cell packs rather than classroom-based learning, and the loss of high-value work opportunities.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Bridge unit struggles to fulfil its potential as a national resource due to its proximity to and use as an overflow for the segregation unit, resulting in an impoverished regime.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Perception that chaplaincy services are not always valued, with national instructions arbitrarily restricting group sizes for corporate worship, despite clear need for spiritual support.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will the minister give a clear lead to addressing the staffing crisis in the prison service by undertaking a fundamental review of the career opportunities and pay offered to its staff? | Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 | Will the minister please secure the cooperation of the Department of Health and other interested parties to conduct a wide-ranging review of the role and capacity of the secure hospitals and their relationship with the prison service? Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 | Will HMPPS give priority to improving the training and support given to prison officers in their early years in post in order to halt the haemorrhaging of staff in the first five years after their appointment? | HMPPS | |
| 4 | Will HMPPS review the way in which prisoners in high security prisons are fed, taking into account the facilities and equipment supplied for the main kitchen; the qualifications of staff; the budget allowed for the purchase of food; the canteen and its approach to pricing? | HMPPS | |
| 5 | Will the Governor give personal attention to sorting out the intractable issues faced by the kitchen in order to ensure that the best possible local arrangements can be made amid the pressing national concerns about escalating living costs? | Governor / Director | |
| 6 | Will the Governor consider what further steps can be taken to enable the permanent separation of the segregation and the Bridge units so that they can fulfil their individual roles more effectively? | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 45 | 38 |
| Activities (including education) | 17 | 19 |
| Adjudications | 27 | 17 |
| Canteen | 16 | 12 |
| Chaplaincy | 0 | 0 |
| Children and families | 2 | 3 |
| Discrimination | 3 | 2 |
| Drugs | 0 | 0 |
| Education | 1 | 1 |
| Facilities | 2 | 1 |
| Food | 19 | 17 |
| Healthcare (including mental health) | 48 | 53 |
| Legal | 12 | 10 |
| Money and property | 39 | 27 |
| Other | 16 | 16 |
| Pay and employment | 1 | 1 |
| Privileges | 3 | 1 |
| Programmes and courses | 1 | 1 |
| Relationships with staff | 5 | 4 |
| Release | 1 | 1 |
| Segregation | 37 | 21 |
| Sentence | 21 | 13 |
| Total applications | 316 | 287 |
Related inspections & investigations
5 Dec 2022
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 3
· Respect 2
· Activity 1
· Release 2
Other reports for Whitemoor
Report details
- Establishment
- Whitemoor
- Type
- Prison · Cat A, B
- Report year
- 2022
- Published
- 1 November 2022
- Responsible body
- HMP Whitemoor
- Recommendations
- 6
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 3 — Good
Population
| Population | 316 |
| Operational capacity | 333 |
Service providers
Adult Social Care
Cambridgeshire County Council
Dentistry
Prison Centred Dental Care
Education and Library
Milton Keynes College
Healthcare
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Maintenance
Gov Facility Services Ltd
Psychological services (Fens unit)
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust