Source · IMB Annual Report
Youth estate
AI-generated report summary Pre-COVID, Boards raised concerns about high levels of violence, gang activity, and inadequate mental health resources, calling for cross-governmental action. During the first national lockdown, young people endured exceptionally restrictive regimes, locked in rooms for over 22 hours daily with minimal activity, severely impacting their mental and physical health and education. The pandemic exposed and exacerbated existing systemic problems, particularly in mental health, education, and progression, with an increased remand population further compounding issues.
Year: 2020
Published: 8 Jun 2021
Type: Prison · Cat YOI
Key concerns
Positive findings
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThe report noted some improvements in ACCT processes and enhanced family contact arrangements, including in-cell telephony. Healthcare provision saw positive changes, with encouraging projects for young people and improved quality of care. Boards commended staff commitment in supporting vulnerable young people and positive inter-agency teamwork. During COVID-19, staff and young people showed resilience, with some positive staff-young person relationships noted amidst restrictions.
Key concerns
There remained concerns about high levels of violence, and the resulting impact of managing safety through ‘keep aparts’. Although there had been a reduction in one YOI and at a specialist behavioural support unit in another, levels of violence between young people and assaults on staff were still too high.
Severe delays in transfers to secure mental health settings due to a national shortage of mental health beds, leading to prolonged and inappropriate stays in segregation for young people with complex needs.
Education provision was unsatisfactory, under-resourced, and inconsistent, with frequent cancellations disrupting learning pre-COVID, and becoming woefully inadequate during the first national lockdown.
Source wording under review
Extremely poor central sentence planning by HMPPS caused delays in transfers to the young adult/adult estate, with some over-18-year-olds being left in limbo for several months, often in segregation.
At Werrington, the Board reported that a small number of authorities were slow to respond, as evidenced by a young person who did not receive financial assistance for almost five months. Wetherby IMB continued to raise concerns about some local authorities failing to provide adequate support for looked after young people despite being legally obliged to do so. As a result, these young people were disadvantaged compared with others at the YOI. Cookham Wood IMB noted the lack of equality regarding preparation for release, depending on the local authority. Some looked after young people would be kept waiting until the very last minute before being provided with details of their accommodation on release.
In all four YOIs, young people spent at least 22 hours a day locked in their room, at least between March and May, with their progression and rehabilitation abruptly put on hold.