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Forest Bank

AI-generated report summary HMP Forest Bank, a Category B male prison, faced significant challenges during its transition to a main Reception prison and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board commended staff and management for their efforts in maintaining safety and humane treatment amidst staffing shortages and a heavily restricted regime. While healthcare provision was generally good and education adapted well to in-cell learning, concerns remained regarding the impact of restrictions on purposeful activity, appropriate transfers for long-term prisoners, property issues, and increased drug smuggling.

Year: 2020 Published: 10 Feb 2021 Type: Prison · Cat Category B, Reception, YOI Population: 1,390 Recommendations: 3 Key concerns Positive findings
Original IMB report page ↗ Ministerial response · 24 Sep 2021 ↗

Safety statistics

Incidents during reporting year
IndicatorThis yearPrevious
Deaths in custody2—

Positive findings

AI-generated summary
The Board commended the management team and staff for their exceptional work in prioritizing safety and delivering humane treatment, especially during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, including effective partnership with Public Health England. Healthcare facilities and catering were noted as good. The education department successfully adapted to in-cell learning, and the chaplaincy and CSU staff were praised for their professionalism. The prison's complaints system was also found to be effective.

Key concerns

7 items
Regime/Time Out of Cell The lockdowns and ongoing restrictions have severely restricted physical visits... prisoners have necessarily experienced lengthy periods in their cells... These severe restrictions for prisoners have been both challenging and frustrating as their opportunities for education, work and association have been significantly reduced.
Overcrowding The prison population has changed from more long-term residents to men on remand and awaiting sentence... Of the sentenced population only 40% fit Forest Banks resettlement criteria with the other 60% requiring transfer to more suitable establishments.
Other Property continues to be a problem area with prisoners. Either, within the establishment (12 applications) when prisoners are transferred to CSU at short notice but also when prisoners are moved between establishments (22 applications).
Healthcare Unfortunately, the waiting list for the dentist has increased because of the Covid-19 restrictions... The Covid pandemic has impacted referrals to hospital for those identified as requiring transfer under the Mental Health Act.
Substance Misuse As visits have been restricted there has been an increase in contraband thrown over the security fences into the exercise yards... drugs have been smuggled onto the wings for residents’ use.
Staffing Staff prisoner relationships are generally good, despite a higher than preferred turnover of staff... Unfortunately, the Board has not been able to monitor this [key worker scheme] since then.
Equality/Diversity The prison is still without a Pagan chaplain despite attempts to rectify the situation.

Recommendations

3 items

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Ministry of Justice

Can the Minister comment on the exceptional partnership work conducted by HMP Forest Bank, HMPPS and Public Health England to control the Covid 19 outbreak and to keep staff, residents, and visitors safe and what will happen after the pandemic?

Source text verified

Government response
I am grateful to the Board for highlighting the exceptional partnership work conducted by HMP Forest Bank, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and Public Health England (PHE), which undoubtably helped control the outbreak of the virus, ensuring the safety of staff and prisoners. As the Board is aware, this pandemic has presented a unique set of challenges which HMPPS continues to address to maintain services in custody and the community. Close collaboration and partnership working across HMPPS, local authorities, PHE, NHS England and NHS Improvement and prison healthcare providers is essential to ensuring that prisoners are safely located. HMPPS continues to work very closely with public health authorities and experts to ensure the approach taken is based on the best scientific advice available.
Post Covid-19, the Director of HMP Forest Bank is confident that he will continue with this impressive partnership work to manage other health and wellbeing related initiatives.

Recorded status: In progress

Topic: Safety

Recommendation 2

Addressee: HMPPS

Can HMPPS comment on how they are ensuring that the new offender flow process supports HMP Forest Bank by progressively transferring licence recalls, category B prisoners and Lifers that a reception prison should not hold?

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Government response
HMP Forest Bank is a Reception and Resettlement prison. The Reception cohort comprises of men who are on remand, convicted un-sentenced, fixed term recalls, non-criminal, have 28 days or less time left to serve at the point of transfer, are newly sentenced awaiting onward allocation or are an immigration detainee. The Resettlement cohort comprises of men who are category C with more than 28 days but equal to or less than 16 months’ time left to serve.
In January 2020, 76% of HMP Forest Bank’s population were in the Reception/Resettlement cohort. The Reconfiguration project team in February 2020 moved courts from HMP Manchester to HMP Forest Bank and as a result the reception population slowly increased month on month. There has been a reduction of category B men held at HMP Forest Bank, from 117 in January 2020 to 38 in December 2020. Overall, HMP Forest Bank has been demonstrating a slow positive change since January 2020 with 89% of the population correct for Reception and Resettlement cohorts as of December 2020. There will always be a small percentage of men who appear to be in the wrong place. This could be due to a prisoner awaiting a transfer to a more appropriate prison, being subject to medical or other hold, or being located at the prison for security purposes.

Recorded status: In progress

Topic: Offender Management

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Governor / Director

Can the Director comment on the percentage difference in the levels of violence, self-harm, use of force and accidents at HMP Forest Bank between the last annual report and this one?

Source text verified

Recorded status:

Topic: Safety

Applications to the IMB

CategoryCurrentPrevious
Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions 13 7
Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) 0 3
Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions 3 8
Equality 7 2
Finance, including pay, private monies, spends 6 7
Food and kitchens 1 4
Health, including physical, mental, social care 35 34
Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions 17 22
Miscellaneous, including complaints system 31 127
Property during transfer or in another establishment or location 22 12
Property within this establishment 12 25
Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell 2 10
Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation 4 30
Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying 33 52
Transfers 7 4

Related inspections & investigations

9 Dec 2024 HMIP · Unannounced Safety 2 · Respect 3 · Activity 2 · Release 3
9 Jan 2023 HMIP · IRP
21 Feb 2022 HMIP · Unannounced
— PPO fatal incident David Ogden · Self-inflicted
— PPO fatal incident Jake O’Brien · Self-inflicted
— PPO fatal incident James Bell · Self-inflicted
— PPO fatal incident Patrick McCann · Natural causes
— PPO fatal incident Barry Howard
25 Feb 2014 PFD Lee Curran · State Custody related deaths
14 Nov 2013 PFD Anthony Brian Flynn · State Custody Death

Other reports for Forest Bank

2024 Published 27 Mar 2025 Population 1,470 · Concerns
2023 Published 4 Apr 2024 · Self-harm 1,090 · Concerns
2022 Published 30 Mar 2023 · Self-harm 800 · Concerns
2021 Published 14 Feb 2022 · Self-harm 998 · Concerns