Prison
Cat B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Gartree
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 14 May 2024
HMP Gartree maintains a calm and ordered environment with positive staff-prisoner relationships, though faces significant challenges with its ageing infrastructure and an increase in use of force incidents. While basic healthcare access is good, mental health services and purposeful activity require improvement. The Board highlights key concerns regarding building repairs, drug infiltration, fire safety, and adequate provision for vulnerable prisoners, while acknowledging efforts in staff recruitment and regime development.
Positive Findings
HMP Gartree demonstrates effective leadership, providing a fair and consistent regime, with HMIP reporting positive progress in safety, respect, and resettlement outcomes. Prisoners generally report feeling safe, and relationships between staff and prisoners are positive. The Board commends the efforts in maintaining purposeful activity, promoting literacy, and ensuring new gate security initiatives. Staffing levels have improved, and food provision, including special diets and religious festival recognition, is commendable. The Board also welcomes the introduction of a Young Adults Strategy.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The fabric and building infrastructure at Gartree, including the time it takes for repairs to happen, inadequate showers, persistent heating problems, leaking roofs, and dangerous flooring on stairs and landings.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
The facilities for some of the older/disabled prisoners, which remain inadequate, with not enough cells large enough to accommodate all wheelchair access requirements and full accessibility.
Mental Health
Repeated
Access to mental health services and some healthcare services remains a concern, with the Board struggling to obtain meaningful data about healthcare provision and increasing waiting times for specialist mental health services.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The range and equitable access to truly purposeful activities is not sufficient, with too many prisoners not meaningfully engaged in education or work opportunities, and some education sessions now being 'self-taught' in cells.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
The continued influx of drugs and illicit items, including phones and weapons, with the Prison Service's seeming inability to identify and restrict drone activity, and potential risks from additional contractors.
Safety
The use of force (UoF) has increased significantly over the reporting period despite a reduced prison population.
Segregation
Repeated
Long-term segregation of some prisoners in the SAPU due to a lack of suitable alternative accommodation within the prison estate or a secure mental health unit/hospital, impacting their mental health.
Safety
Repeated
Lack of clear and consistent fire safety drills and information for prisoners and staff, with some prisoners reporting never having had a fire drill.
Resettlement/Release
A huge backlog of Category C prisoners unable to move on from Gartree.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Repair or replacement of essential equipment in the kitchen is still an issue, affecting hygienic food production.
Complaints/Property
Issues with the manner in which property is recorded and dealt with during whole wing 'lockdown' searches, including confiscations without clear reasons and delays in receiving 'in possession' property.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Inconsistencies in prisoners' pay levels compared to other establishments or by educational attainment.
Safety
Staff are not adequately trained to challenge prisoners who cover their observation panels, a concern raised in PPO reports about Deaths in Custody.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels have shown improvement and stability over the reporting year, a positive trend the Board hopes will continue as residential wings reopen. Recruitment and retention remain a challenge, particularly for healthcare where there's reliance on agency staff. HMPPS is taking actions to increase recruits and address the long-term issue of poor retention at Gartree. There is a need for more Use of Force instructors and consistent key worker delivery.
Healthcare
The Board continues to face difficulties accessing comprehensive healthcare data, hindering its ability to fully monitor service provision and waiting lists. While reception screens are completed 100% and there are no waiting lists for GP or dental care, access to mental health services often takes time and remains a concern. A 26% vacancy rate in healthcare is mitigated by agency staff, but issues with prisoner complaints about healthcare responses persist.
Regime & Daily Life
Gartree prioritises access to purposeful activity, including daily outdoor exercise, but HMIP and the Board advocate for longer and more varied periods outside cells. Concerns exist that some education sessions are now self-taught in cells, potentially reducing time out of cell. A new core day aims to facilitate education and work while managing prisoner interactions. Illicit item use remains an issue, and in-cell eating is common, raising questions about living conditions.
Recommendations (31)
Ministry of Justice: 10
HMPPS: 10
Governor / Director: 11
13 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the Minister confirm, again, that the necessary funding will be made available to Gartree to address the unacceptable state of the showers? In the response to the IMB’s 2021-2022 annual report, the Minister advised that ‘shower upgrades have been incorporated into the fire safety improvement programme…’. The building work on B wing took much longer than advised and there was little evidence that the shower repairs were comprehensive. The Board was dismayed to see that where an accommodation block had been unoccupied for well over 12 months, the opportunity had not been taken to fully upgrade showers, decorate and replace dangerous flooring on stairs and landings, for example, let alone ensure the wing was returned to the prison by the main contractor in a clean and tidy condition. Can the Minister provide assurance that lessons have been learned from this as the fire safety programme moves throughout the other residential wings at Gartree?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
£13.5 million funding investment is specific to the fire safety improvements, including the fire alarm upgrade in the residential areas and the shower refurbishments. Approximately £680,000 for the shower refurbishments. Estate investment bids are being developed for HMP Gartree, including the replacement of heating and hot water boilers, site wide.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Can the Minister confirm that new funding bids will be supported, and budgets will be allocated to address the seriously deteriorating fabric and infrastructure of Gartree, regardless of the confirmation that a new prison will now be built next to Gartree?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
Assurance given that a new prison will not impact on the maintenance of any existing prisons, nor does it change the bidding process for capital maintenance investment.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Is it cost effective to deal with repairs in this way, when prisoners, including those on the over 50s wing, have been left for days during particularly cold periods with no heating at all? Can the Minister confirm that the overall responsibility for the fabric lies outside the control of the Governor and the LTHSE? When issues arise that cannot be resolved in a timely or satisfactory manner, who should be held to account?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
Improvements have been made and are ongoing with the heating and hot water pumps and valves. This is linked to a new Building Management System continuing to be changed to improve control over these systems across HMP Gartree. Temporary heating boilers have been installed in G and H wings whilst sustainability options are considered for a permanent solution.
Recommendation 4
Repeated
As the prison population continues to rise and age, the fabric of the buildings continues to cause problems with disability access for elderly and disabled prisoners. Even on Gartree’s dedicated over 50s wing, there are not enough cells large enough to accommodate all wheelchair access requirements and full accessibility. What alternative provisions for this population are being considered?
Ministry of Justice
Equality
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board acknowledges the Minister’s response to our last report, which advises that contract managers and local processes may be in place to allow stakeholder engagement, the Board remains concerned that with Facilities Management, in particular, there does not appear to be an effective way of ensuring issues are always dealt with in a timely and effective manner.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
HMPPS has invested in ensuring there are appropriate governance and assurance frameworks with appropriate Contract Managers and Leads in place. Meetings are held with relevant stakeholders and Terms of References with providers are identified to ensure consistency and effective stakeholder engagement. Local processes are in place to monitor services such as facilities management, education and healthcare and the Governor will be able to discuss those in more detail with the Board.
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board has continued to struggle to obtain meaningful data about healthcare provision to enable monitoring of waiting lists and patients’ clinics, etc, so that we can ascertain whether or not they are being provided at a satisfactory level.
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Response
NHS England Midlands Clinical and Quality Team continues to review and monitor all clinical information alongside the Commissioning Team throughout the healthcare contract life cycle. In terms of performance, recent quality indicators, as of March 2023, confirm that the healthcare service at HMP Gartree regularly completes 100% of First Reception screens and 100% of Second Reception screens. There is an active programme of patient engagement, with no waiting lists for dental care or patients to see a GP, both of which are better than community services, and there are no patients waiting to see a primary care practitioner. It is recognised that there is a 26% vacancy rate. However, bank and agency staff are covering this shortfall and the recent Care Quality Commission inspection reported that these staff have been supported to integrate into the service successfully. In addition, any serious incidents are reported consistently and in a timely manner.
Recommendation 7
We ask the Minister to explain how the Ministry of Justice perceives the performance of prisoner healthcare at HMP Gartree when compared against the performance specification in the contract.
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Response
NHS England Midlands Clinical and Quality Team continues to review and monitor all clinical information alongside the Commissioning Team throughout the healthcare contract life cycle. In terms of performance, recent quality indicators, as of March 2023, confirm that the healthcare service at HMP Gartree regularly completes 100% of First Reception screens and 100% of Second Reception screens. There is an active programme of patient engagement, with no waiting lists for dental care or patients to see a GP, both of which are better than community services, and there are no patients waiting to see a primary care practitioner. It is recognised that there is a 26% vacancy rate. However, bank and agency staff are covering this shortfall and the recent Care Quality Commission inspection reported that these staff have been supported to integrate into the service successfully. In addition, any serious incidents are reported consistently and in a timely manner.
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board is concerned that the length of time some prisoners have to wait to access specialist mental health services appears to be increasing. What can be done to improve the assessment and access to these services? Please can the Minister explain how the Government intends to address longstanding and yet unresolved problems with the assessment and transfer of prisoners who present with serious mental health and personality disorders from Gartree to suitable secure hospital (as per section 47, Mental Health Act 1983)?
Ministry of Justice
Mental_health
Response
Acknowledged the Board’s query regarding equivalence of healthcare services and concerns about people in prison with complex health needs. The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving health outcomes for people in contact with the criminal justice system. In 2024, NHS England will be undertaking a comprehensive review and consultation exercise of all prison healthcare service specifications.
Recommendation 9
The Board urges the Minister for a further update about how prisoners at Gartree who are substantially over tariff and subject to the consequences of the now discredited ‘sentences of imprisonment for public protection’ (see Criminal Justice Act 2003) will be affected.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 10
In view of the ‘cost of living crisis’ affecting many people in the UK, will there be any financial support provided to prisons to cope with the rapidly increasing cost of living and increasing energy cost pressures?
Ministry of Justice
Other
Recommendation 11
Are there clear procedures to be followed during such searches?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 12
Can the Prison Service confirm who ultimately is responsible for monitoring fire safety compliance in Gartree?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 13
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
For yet another year, the Board remains concerned that repair or replacement of essential equipment in the kitchen is still an issue. Can the Prison Service confirm that the service level agreement with the supplier/contractor is being adequately managed and reviewed? Can penalties be applied when, clearly, timely responses to address such issues at Gartree are not being addressed and adequately dealt with? The Board requests the Prison Service confirm the structure within the service that ensures that the contracts performance is being achieved in accordance with the signed contract.
HMPPS
Food
Recommendation 14
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The following question is repeated from last year’s annual report: will the Prison Service work with the Board to ensure that it has access to necessary information, such as healthcare data, for example, so that the Board is able to monitor more effectively how well the prison is meeting the standards and requirements placed on it and what impact these have on those in its custody?
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 15
Repeated
Can the Prison Service confirm that Gartree will receive sufficient ongoing budget and capital funding so that prisoners can live and staff can work within a safe, secure and decent environment? The Board has noted that other prisons have received substantial investment to improve their infrastructure, and the Board, based on the information provided over the years, fails to understand why Gartree has not received this level of investment.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 16
Will the Prison Service ensure that Gartree will be sufficiently funded so that prisoners’ access to employment, purposeful activity, education and healthcare can be addressed as quickly as possible?
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 17
Can the Prison Service confirm to the Board who has overall responsibility for the health and wellbeing of prisoners at Gartree?
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 18
Will the prison’s annual staffing budget be sufficiently increased to ensure that staffing levels can be maintained and increased, as any reduction ultimately impacts directly on safety in Gartree and the daily lives of prisoners. Will there be any review of staffing budgets in the coming year, and will the Prison Service continue to provide a sufficient number of detached, uniformed staff to ensure safety and fair and humane treatment for prisoners?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 19
What further support can be provided to ensure that key work is delivered consistently and to a high standard for all prisoners?
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 20
Can the Prison Service clarify if the complaints’ procedure for healthcare provision at HMP Gartree is audited in line with standard complaints made under the COMP1/2 procedures? The Board is concerned that some prisoners appear to be unhappy about the responses they receive with regard to healthcare complaints or concerns. Are the Prison Service and the Governor satisfied that the healthcare provider has a robust and transparent approach to deal with prisoner complaints and that responses are consistent with the principles of procedural fairness.
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 21
Can the Governor provide regular written updates on performance indicators and progress reports with regard to various initiatives?
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 22
However, we ask if plans are in place to ensure that this does not become an issue once the residential wings are full again (on completion of fire safety works). Will the staffing levels change if new wings are constructed inside Gartree?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 23
Lockdown searches and property issues generate a lot of complaints for the prison and the IMB. From the Board’s observations, it appears that ‘search’ procedures may not always be followed and/or paperwork completed? Can the Governor explain why?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 24
Following searches, the Board is concerned that prisoners who have items ‘confiscated’ are not always advised fully of the reasons and the paperwork is not always available. There are also some issues when prisoners don’t receive ‘in possession’ property from Reception in a timely manner. This causes avoidable frustration on the residential wings for prisoners, staff and IMB members alike. Can the Governor assure the Board that these issues will be resolved?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 25
How does the Governor plan to rectify the problem of not providing prisoners with purposeful activity? The Board is concerned that too many men are not meaningfully engaged in education or work opportunities.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 26
The Board is concerned that some prisoners are in receipt of lower levels of pay than at other establishments (for similar work) or by virtue of their educational attainment. What does the Governor intend to do about prisoners’ pay inconsistencies?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 27
Repeated
Will the Governor continue to push for improvements to the security systems to help prevent the influx of illicit items through the gate and/or via drones, etc? What additional steps is the Governor taking to reduce the importation of illicit items, including drugs and mobile phones?
Governor / Director
Substance_misuse
Recommendation 28
Repeated
Will the Governor ensure that, during the forthcoming year, the fabric of the kitchen will be renovated to an acceptable standard to ensure hygienic food production and that all unreliable and unserviceable kitchen appliances are properly repaired or replaced without delay?
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 29
Will the Governor confirm that there will be no further losses of those workshops (such as the Studio), which provide higher-quality employment opportunities?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 30
Can the Governor give further assurance that staff will be adequality trained to ensure they challenge all and any prisoners who cover their observations panels? This has been raised in a number of PPO reports about Deaths in Custody.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 31
Repeated
Can the Governor give full assurance that all residential wings and other functional areas of the prison are fully compliant with the requirements for fire drills to be held and tested and that all staff and prisoners are aware of what to do in the event of a fire alarm sounding?
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Gartree
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
16 Jan 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 2
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.