Key concerns 67 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Safety
Violence in the prison continues to be a concern for the Board and the presence of alcohol, drugs and other prohibited items creates a potentially dangerous environment for both prisoners and prison staff.
Key concern 2
Safety
A lack of effective perimeter prison security measures makes this a challenging issue to resolve.
Key concern 3
Safety
Self-harm continues to be a concern.
Key concern 4
Safety
Assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) documents (used to support prisoners who are at risk of self-harm and suicide) continue to be of variable quality with observations missing, conversations not meaningful and supervisors’ checks not taking place.
Key concern 5
Estate/Conditions
From the Board’s observations, dilapidated buildings with leaking roofs, broken heating, faulty lighting, and washing machine failures have continued to undermine the efforts of staff and management to make the prison a place of safety and reform.
Key concern 6
Segregation
The segregation building is not up to standard. The Board feels that it would be inappropriate to refer to it as a care and separation unit.
Key concern 7
Equality/Diversity
Some prisoners with mobility issues are housed in inappropriate accommodation, making it difficult for them to access showers and serveries
Key concern 8
Other
There are several foreign national men detained at HMP/YOI Norwich beyond the expiry of their sentence.
Key concern 9
Mental Health
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum condition (autism) referrals were being rejected by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust as the environment was unstable.
Key concern 10
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Although weekly payments to prisoners for work or education have been increased, the increase was not in line with inflation, resulting in some prisoners having a disproportionately lower income as a result.
Key concern 11
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The location of the centralised library within category B prison means that prisoners’ attendance at the library is heavily dependent on the availability of officers to accompany them. It is not always possible for prisoners with mobility issues to leave their wings to reach it.
Key concern 12
Education/Purposeful Activity
Prisoners not proficient in English and maths are prevented from working towards any vocational qualifications.
Key concern 13
Resettlement/Release
25% of prisoners released in January 2025 were homeless.
Key concern 14
Other · Repeated from a previous year
Will the Minister please explain why foreign national men continue to be detained in prison beyond the expiry of their sentence instead of being transferred to an immigration removal centre?
Key concern 15
Education/Purposeful Activity
Will the Minister please explain why neither offending behaviour programmes nor accredited interventions to allow progression to release from prison are provided within HMP/YOI Norwich?
Key concern 16
Safety
Will the Minister please explain why assaults on prison officers are not treated as seriously as those on other emergency workers?
Key concern 17
Safety
Will the Minister explain why serious offences such as possession of a mobile phone, supplying, or intent to supply drugs or alcohol within the prison are not acted upon by the Norfolk Police/CPS?
Key concern 18
Estate/Conditions · Repeated from a previous year
Will the Prison Service please explain why there will not be a full overhaul of the boilers and heating systems in HMP/YOI Norwich until ongoing projects have been completed?
Key concern 19
Segregation · Repeated from a previous year
Will the Prison Service explain why there are currently no plans to improve the Segregation Unit?
Key concern 20
Safety
Will the Prison Service please advise when a complete overhaul of the current perimeter security surveillance equipment will take place?
Key concern 21
Equality/Diversity
What action will the Governor take to ensure that prisoners with disabilities and older prisoners have the same access to jobs, education and gym as the other prisoners?
Key concern 22
Equality/Diversity
Please may the Governor explain why other groups are not represented at the Diversity and Inclusion Action Team (DIAT) meeting?
Key concern 23
Equality/Diversity
Would the Governor please explain why statistics for prisoners identifying as having a disability are not analysed within use of force reports?
Key concern 24
Safety · Repeated from a previous year
The Board still has concerns about ACCT documents. What action will the Governor take to ensure further improvements in the management of the ACCT process and completion of documents by staff?
Key concern 25
Equality/Diversity
ACCT reviews involving prisoners who do not speak English are difficult. Although a phone translation service, The Big Word, is used, reviews are conducted in busy offices and constantly disturbed. What action will be taken to improve the quality of such reviews?
Key concern 26
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board is concerned about the lack of process reintegrating prisoners who self-isolate back into the normal prison regime. What action will the Governor take to rectify the situation?
Key concern 27
Other
There are currently no ‘baby bonding’ sessions (aimed at introducing prisoners to newborn babies) for prisoners on the category B site, following the removal of facilities in 2023. When will these important sessions be reinstated?
Key concern 28
Regime/Time Out of Cell
What action will the Governor take to ensure that all prisoners are offered at least one hour of gym a week? Sessions are regularly cancelled due to shortages of staff.
Key concern 29
Healthcare
To assist the Board monitor health and wellbeing in the prison, could the Governor please ensure that copies of the following reports are provided: HCRG quality reports and clinical governance reports. Minutes from Norfolk Prison Health and Partnership board meetings. Social care reports. Minutes from medicines management meeting.
Key concern 30
Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year
Why are prisoners with severe mental health issues or learning difficulties still being held in custody?
Key concern 31
Regime/Time Out of Cell · Repeated from a previous year
When will a realistic minimum rate for prisoners’ pay be set under Prison Service Order (PSO) 4460, with corresponding increases made to prison budgets?
Key concern 32
Segregation · Repeated from a previous year
When will the new policy framework relating to prisoners in segregation be published?
Key concern 33
Regime/Time Out of Cell · Repeated from a previous year
Why are there are no adequate local laundry facilities in HMP/YOI Norwich?
Key concern 34
Segregation
No plans have been presented to improve and expand the segregation unit, particularly given the expansion of HMP/YOI Norwich in 2025/26.
Key concern 35
Segregation
There is only one operational shower in segregation. If it is contaminated or out of order, prisoners cannot have a shower until repairs are completed.
Key concern 36
Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year
The Board is concerned that prisoners with mental health issues continue to be held in the segregation unit, as there is no other suitable place of safety should they be violent and disruptive. Prisoners due to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act were also held there for some time because there were delays in them being sectioned.
Key concern 37
Segregation · Repeated from a previous year
There is little to occupy the segregated prisoners except for limited in-cell education packs, access to a radio, and regular access to the library trolley at mealtimes and distraction packs.
Key concern 38
Segregation
Some prisoners are deliberately disruptive because they prefer to be segregated rather than be on the main wings. This makes the unit a preferred location rather than a deterrent.
Key concern 39
Segregation
There are not enough hours under the library contract with Suffolk Libraries to include the segregation unit. It is totally reliant on donations of reading material.
Key concern 40
Segregation
Prisoners are still complaining that there is a delay in their property moving with them to their new location and that it is frequently lost in transit.
Key concern 41
Segregation
Phone sets (handset and cable) are available to prisoners when required to make personal and legal calls. Due to the phone connection points being outside of the cells, cables must be connected between the cell door and door frame. As the length of the cable is too short, calls may only be made or taken by the prisoner standing close to the door. This presents issues with confidentiality and problems when documents need to be accessed or notes taken. Cables are frequently damaged when caught between the door and door frame. Because the phone sets only come as a single unit, frequently there is not enough spare cables. This has prevented prisoners from having timely access to their phone calls leading to the potential for an escalation in unreasonable behaviour.
Key concern 42
Staffing
Despite its relaunch, the key worker process in HMP/YOI Norwich has still not functioned as it should in the Board’s view.
Key concern 43
Staffing
Prisoners knowing who their personal officer is has dropped significantly to 27% in the most recent questionnaire (48% 2023/24).
Key concern 44
Other
Only 37% of prisoners who responded to the IMB questionnaire had easy access to Governor’s notices.
Key concern 45
Equality/Diversity
There are continuing inequities regarding access to work opportunities. For example, prisoners with disabilities and older prisoners who don’t have adjustments made for them to be able to work.
Key concern 46
Equality/Diversity
Statistics are not analysed for those with disabilities. The Board has been informed that this is because there are low numbers of prisoners with disabilities. This does not appear to be the case as illustrated by figures provided earlier in this section.
Key concern 47
Equality/Diversity
Prisoners with reduced mobility on the wings struggle to get their meals and with other daily activities. There are no lifts on B and C wings and the only lift on A wing remains out of action.
Key concern 48
Equality/Diversity
The healthcare wing remains without a specially adapted shower for prisoners with disabilities.
Key concern 49
Equality/Diversity
Dedicated gym sessions are not available for prisoners with disabilities.
Key concern 50
Equality/Diversity
Foreign national prisoners do not always understand prisoner correspondence, relying on other prisoners to translate for them.
Key concern 51
Equality/Diversity
The Big Word is used by staff for ACCT reviews, however, it is not generally used for other interactions with prisoners, such as routine conversations, or when the prisoner is interacting with listeners.
Key concern 52
Healthcare
Patient confidentiality, the removal of prisoner complaints from the prison complaints system and difficulty accessing performance data from the providers HCRG Care Group (HCRG) and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (the trust) have resulted in the Board having limited insight into the standard of care within the prison.
Key concern 53
Healthcare
The February 2025 clinical governance report states that safety audits for the second year running showed inconsistency in checking, and the absence of some emergency equipment and drugs in the emergency bags particularly in A, B and C wings.
Key concern 54
Healthcare
In the June 2024, clinical governance report, concerns raised by health care staff regarding access to prisoners at night were noted.
Key concern 55
Healthcare
There are complaints from prisoners regarding access to appointments with healthcare professionals due to delays, cancellations and the lack of availability of officers to escort prisoners to their appointment within the prison.
Key concern 56
Healthcare
Prisoners requiring occupational therapy as part of primary care are unable to access it within the prison estate.
Key concern 57
Mental Health
Self-isolation is having a detrimental effect on the mental health of prisoners.
Key concern 58
Mental Health
Despite significant prison expansion, anticipated funding for only one more mental health nurse has been agreed. Two other posts have been rejected.
Key concern 59
Mental Health
In the IMB questionnaire, only 44% of prisoners who responded found it easy to access mental health support.
Key concern 60
Healthcare
Applications have been received during the year, with prisoners complaining either about the complete lack of access to social care assessments or significant waiting times before these take place.
Key concern 61
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The category B site gym was closed for several months until April 2025, contravening Prison Rule 29, which states that prisoners over the age of 21 should be given the opportunity to participate in one hour of physical education each week.
Key concern 62
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Prisoners working in kitchens and the market garden state that they do not get enough time out of cell for domestics (showers, etc). They must shower immediately upon their return to the wings making them late collecting their meals from the servery because there is insufficient time for showers afterward.
Key concern 63
Regime/Time Out of Cell
59% of prisoners responding to the IMB questionnaire felt that they got enough time out of their cell for domestic chores and exercise, down from 63% in 2023/24.
Key concern 64
Substance Misuse
Resumption of drug testing has statistically shown an increase in drug usage and a wider variation of new types of drugs, not all of which can be detected successfully.
Key concern 65
Education/Purposeful Activity
On the main site there are few opportunities to gain qualifications which would increase employability on release. The warehousing qualification offered in the printshop has been cancelled. There are a number of in-house qualifications, but these are not recognised outside the establishment.
Key concern 66
Other
Prisoners transferred in from other prisons do not get emergency credit. They are required to be reassessed for literacy and numeracy before being eligible for employment. This can take some time which restricts their ability to work. If they have no other access to funds, they are unable to buy canteen or speak with family using the phone.
Key concern 67
Resettlement/Release
With prison places at a premium, the ability to transfer out of a local prison for sentenced prisoners is now more difficult. This results in delays in accessing important courses needed for their sentence management plans because there are no courses to assist offenders in their rehabilitation in HMP/YOI Norwich.