Key concerns 15 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year
Of the 68 IPP prisoners at HMP Oakwood, 49 are on recall (72%). Given that the majority are ten or more years over their original tariff, when will extra funding be given to the Probation Service to prioritise reducing this recall percentage for IPP prisoners? If no additional resources are planned, what is the rationale for this decision?
Key concern 2
Equality/Diversity · Repeated from a previous year
There remains only one neurodiversity support manager (appointed by the Ministry of Justice) for each prison in England, including HMP Oakwood, irrespective of its population or the level of need. HMP Oakwood’s neurodiversity support manager estimates that 900 prisoners (40%) are neurodivergent. Given the scale of need and the over-representation of neurodivergent prisoners among those involved in violence, when will the Minister review the allocation of neurodiversity funding and support to ensure it better reflects the needs and population size of individual prisons?
Key concern 3
Education/Purposeful Activity
Education provision is expected to reduce by 5% from September 2026. How does the Minister justify this reduction, given that HMP Oakwood is a training prison that places considerable emphasis on education, including making English and maths courses mandatory up to Level 2 for prisoners who have not yet achieved these qualifications?
Key concern 4
Safety
Drones continue to pose an increasing threat to prisons through their ability to deliver illicit items. What resources is the Prison Service providing to prisons to detect, deter and disrupt drone activity, and are these resources sufficient to address the growing risk?
Key concern 5
Other · Repeated from a previous year
Since the implementation of the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework in 2022, the Board remains concerned that it is seeing a lack of adherence to the policy, particularly with missing property from incoming prisoners. The highest numbers of complaints both to the prison and to the IMB continue to concern missing property. How – and when - will the Prison Service address this concern?
Key concern 6
Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year
The vast majority of transfers to a secure mental health facility from Oakwood continue to exceed the 28-day stipulated timeframe. How – and when - will the Prison address this ongoing concern?
Key concern 7
Food/Catering · Repeated from a previous year
The Food in Prisons Policy Framework was again revised again in February 2026 to promote healthier diets for prisoners; however, the daily allowance per prisoner remains at £3.16 per day at Oakwood. When will the Prison Service review the amount, especially given the inflation increases in food costs?
Key concern 8
Food/Catering · Repeated from a previous year
What measures is the Director taking to ensure that food service standards at prison serveries are consistently maintained, including compliance with PPE requirements and regular checks to ensure that all catering equipment is functioning correctly?
Key concern 9
Healthcare · Repeated from a previous year
What steps is the Director taking to continue to work with health champions and members of the HAS Line, a prisoner-led initiative that works with the healthcare unit, to address concerns regarding the availability of health complaint forms on houseblocks?
Key concern 10
Other · Repeated from a previous year
The Board continues to be concerned about complaints regarding property lost whilst at HMP Oakwood. What resources is the Director deploying to improve the management of property during internal movements and cell clearances and to reduce the incidence of lost property?
Key concern 11
Equality/Diversity · Repeated from a previous year
What steps is the Director taking, in partnership with the chaplaincy team, to recruit a Rabbi?
Key concern 12
Complaints/Property · Repeated from a previous year
There have been ongoing issues throughout the reporting year concerning the lack of availability of complaints forms (Comp1, Comp1A, Comp2, IPCI and DIRF) on the houseblocks, but especially on Cedar. In addition to this, there was a general dissatisfaction among prisoners with the complaints system in general, especially in replacing many Comp1s with three-day requests.
Key concern 13
Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year
As noted in our previous report, the mental health team remains concerned about the lack of availability of forensic psychological secure place. This means that some prisoners remain in the care and separation unit (CSU), where there is no provision or resource for enhanced mental health support.
Key concern 14
Mental Health
There is a 30-week wait for routine mental health referrals.
Key concern 15
Healthcare
PEL reported that concerns regarding medications are running high but similar to other prisons. The main challenge is managing hospital appointments, due to the increasing number of incoming prisoners with complex needs, often involving three or four medical conditions.