Source · IMB Annual Report
Wealstun
Year: 2022
Published: 12 Oct 2022
Type: Prison · Cat Category C adult training and resettlement prison
Population: 800
Recommendations: 12
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Wealstun, a Category C training prison, experienced significant challenges during 2021-22, primarily due to severe staffing shortages that led to frequent regime curtailments and long periods of cell confinement. While healthcare provision was generally well-managed and positive work was noted in areas like substance misuse recovery and equality initiatives, major concerns persist regarding the inhumane treatment of IPP prisoners, the use of double cells, and the deteriorating conditions of older wings. The Board has made recommendations at national and local levels to address staffing, infrastructure, and resettlement pathways to ensure a humane and progressive environment.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
Positive findings
Healthcare managed well with normal access to most services, playing a key role in the Covid-19 vaccination programme. The body scanner process is more robust, reducing illicit item entry, and intelligence-led searches have been successful. The small works programme operates smoothly, and new commercial laundry equipment is fully operational. The kitchen team is applauded for the good standard and variety of food, catering well for diverse dietary needs, with few related applications to the Board. The segregation unit is well-maintained with good staff-prisoner relationships, and the IDEAL equality programme is well-embedded and impressively led. Chaplaincy provides consistent support, and the complaints process is stable and professionally managed. The Incentivised Substance Free Living (ISFL) unit is firmly established and successful, and a university research project on problem-solving has won awards. A popular music project received funding for the next year.
Key concerns
Staffing
Staffing shortages leading to frequent regime restrictions and long periods locked in cells.
Staffing
Repeated
The limited number of key worker sessions due to staff shortages, hindering prisoner support.
Resettlement/Release
The inhumane treatment of prisoners serving IPP sentences and the lack of provision for their progression and resettlement.
Overcrowding
The reintroduction of doubling up in cells, which is inconsistent with standards of decency, especially regarding toilet facilities.
Estate/Conditions
The poor and deteriorating conditions in the older A and B wings, which require significant remedial action or replacement.
Food/Catering
Repeated
The daily food allowance remains inadequate to provide sufficient meals for adult men, exacerbated by inflation.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
A shortage of Category D open prison places, causing significant delays in transfers for recategorised prisoners.
Resettlement/Release
The allocation of short-sentenced or IPP/lifer prisoners to Wealstun, where there is little opportunity for meaningful progression or resettlement.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Low prisoner pay, exacerbated by increased canteen costs, making basic items unaffordable for many and potentially leading to debt.
Complaints/Property
Inconsistent and sporadic notification to the IMB of prisoners being placed in segregation.
Safety
Significant levels of self-harm among a small number of prisoners, which are high against comparator prisons, possibly linked to regime unpredictability.
Healthcare
Prisoners not attending healthcare appointments due to clashes with other activities, leading to wasted appointments.
Mental Health
Prisoners with mental health problems being held in segregation for long periods due to a national shortage of secure mental health beds.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Inconsistent application of the incentives scheme and insufficient challenge of bad behaviour by some staff on wings.
Substance Misuse
Concerns regarding the availability of nicotine patches on canteen and potential for misuse.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | To consider ways to incentivise people to apply to work in prisons to alleviate the current shortage of staff, not only at HMP Wealstun but across the prison estate. | HMPPS | |
| 2 | To end the inhumane treatment of prisoners serving IPP sentences across the prison estate by releasing all remaining IPP prisoners. | Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 | To consider what assistance can be provided to increase the officer staffing in the short term so that prisoners are not regularly locked up at weekends. | HMPPS | |
| 4 | To ensure that prisoners are not located in double cells as this is inconsistent with the obligation to provide high standards of decency for prisoners (particularly in respect of toilet facilities). | HMPPS | |
| 5 | To consider a complete refurbishment or replacement of the older wings (A and B wings) as it is increasingly apparent that this accommodation, built in the 1960s, needs significant remedial action for a number of reasons and is not a humane environment for prisoners to live in. | HMPPS | |
| 6 |
The Board are aware that prison Governors have the responsibility for setting the daily food allowance from their overall budget. Although increased to £2.15 during the review period, it is a very low sum from which to provide three meals a day for adult men and it remains the Board’s opinion that food budgets should be set at a national level and regularly benchmarked to ensure that they remain adequate.
Repeated
Response
The Board asked HMPPS to consider increasing the daily food allowance but this budget is devolved to Governors. Although the allowance has been increased to £2.15 it is still considered insufficient, and recent food price increases have eliminated any intended increase in purchasing power. |
HMPPS | |
| 7 |
To provide more category D open prison places, so that transfers are not delayed once a prisoner is recategorised (repeat area from 2019/2020 report).
Repeated
Response
The issue of insufficient category D prison places within the prison estate remains a concern to the Board as recategorised prisoners are having to wait a considerable time before a transfer place is found. |
HMPPS | |
| 8 | To ensure that prisoners allocated to Wealstun are not on short sentences or IPP/lifers as there is little opportunity for any progression or resettlement. | HMPPS | |
| 9 |
To ensure that key worker sessions are prioritised when staff are available.
Repeated
Response
Unfortunately, the staffing issues since lockdown restrictions were lifted has meant that key worker sessions are unacceptably low. This is a repeated issue from our 2019/2020 report and is now urgently in need of being addressed. |
Governor / Director | |
| 10 | To consider increasing the rate of pay in line with inflation to enable prisoners to be able to buy items from the canteen. | Governor / Director | |
| 11 | To ensure that a forum for category D prisoners is set up to discuss their issues. | Governor / Director | |
| 12 |
To ensure that the ‘best practice ideals’ are adopted for IPP prisoners including the reinstatement of the IPP/lifer forum and communication.
Repeated
Response
There remains a need for the monthly forum with the offender management unit (OMU) for IPP and life-sentenced prisoners to be reinstated. |
Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 45 | 38 |
| Adjudications | 2 | 2 |
| Canteen | 5 | 13 |
| Chaplaincy | 0 | 0 |
| Discipline/ Incentives and Earned Privileges | 21 | 20 |
| Drugs/Alcohol | 2 | 1 |
| Education/Programmes | 1 | 0 |
| Equality and Diversity | 0 | 0 |
| Food/Kitchen | 3 | 2 |
| General | 67 | 70 |
| Healthcare | 50 | 42 |
| Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP) | 0 | 0 |
| Legal | 7 | 10 |
| Mail/Parcels | 2 | 5 |
| Offender Management | 18 | 10 |
| Other Establishments | 17 | 10 |
| Pay | 14 | 3 |
| Property | 15 | 24 |
| Resettlement | 0 | 0 |
| Security | 2 | 4 |
| Segregation | 8 | 2 |
| Staff Conduct | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 281 | 248 |
| Visits | 0 | 0 |
| Work | 1 | 1 |
Related inspections & investigations
Other reports for Wealstun
Report details
- Establishment
- Wealstun
- Type
- Prison · Cat Category C adult training and resettlement prison
- Report year
- 2022
- Published
- 12 October 2022
- Responsible body
- HMP Wealstun
- Recommendations
- 12
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 2 — Concern
Population
| Population | 800 |
| Operational capacity | 832 |
| CNA (designed for) | 809 99% |
Service providers
Escort Provision
GEOAmey
Facilities Management and Site Maintenance
Amey
Family Intervention Services
Jigsaw
Physical/Mental Healthcare
Practice Plus Group
Works, Learning and Skills
Novus