Prison
Cat Category C training and resettlement prison, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Deerbolt
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 8 May 2024
HMP/YOI Deerbolt, a Category C training and resettlement prison, improved its regime and purposeful activity towards the end of the reporting year, with dedicated staff providing good healthcare and educational services. However, persistent staffing shortages, including the detachment of officers to other establishments, severely impacted the core regime and education delivery. Significant concerns remain regarding delayed estate maintenance, insufficient key worker sessions, and the progression pathways for IPP prisoners amidst a changing demographic.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the senior management team for increasing time out of cells and purposeful activity, improving morale despite a changing prisoner demographic. Staff intelligence work is highly regarded for understanding prisoner profiles. Healthcare and the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Team (DART) provide high-level, timely services despite staffing pressures, maintaining good relationships with the wider prison. Education provision shows improvements with high-standard tuition and increased prisoner engagement. The library, Offender Management Unit, and Resettlement Planning Team are praised for their effective support, leading to suitable accommodation for many released prisoners.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about the lack of meaningful rehabilitation for prisoners at a time when staffing numbers have increased to deemed satisfactory levels, particularly when staff are detached to other prisons, impacting education delivery.
Safety
It is difficult to suggest that Deerbolt is a safe place for all prisoners due to challenges dealing with drugs, violence, and debts, with incidents sometimes attributed to a lack of regime due to low staffing.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The infrequent level of key worker sessions, at only 30% for the third consecutive year, means the wider population does not benefit from increased regular dialogue, leaving some prisoners confused about their progression.
Estate/Conditions
The slowness of wing refurbishments and delays in updating the laundry have impacted staff, regime restrictions, and led to prisoners washing clothes in cells due to property loss and lack of trust in the external laundry service, exacerbated by a lack of funds for new equipment.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Prisoners are still spending too much time in their cells with too little to do, largely due to staffing issues affecting the full regime, despite efforts to increase activity.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Deerbolt still struggles with short-notice cancellations to classes due to prison staff shortages or unexpected incidents, which blights rehabilitation and affects the suitability of provision for the increasing ageing demographic.
Resettlement/Release
There is a concern that the north east could benefit from more beds for prisoners released without a fixed abode.
Resettlement/Release
There are a dozen IPP prisoners at Deerbolt who do not understand what is required for their release, and the Board questions whether Deerbolt can offer the necessary level of service for them to attain it.
Resettlement/Release
The lack of an in-house Kaizen Course is a concern, with prison estate constraints preventing transfers and at least one individual facing release without completing the domestic abuse variant of the programme.
Resettlement/Release
The relative remoteness of Deerbolt remains an issue for visitors, particularly those relying on public transport, and the external visitors' centre has suffered delays in resolving maintenance issues.
Complaints/Property
Complaints about missing property have increased, and HMPPS procedures for logging and transferring property do not seem robust, causing frustration for prisoners.
Mental Health
Issues exist with the mental healthcare team's access to prisoners and suitable meeting locations, leading to delivery problems and difficulties with group work sessions due to staffing shortages.
Food/Catering
Concerns were noted about hygiene in the food preparation areas in the kitchen and prisoners reported that the hot meal is not always hot.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMPPS faces significant staffing recruitment challenges, and while Deerbolt's numbers have increased, staff detachment to other prisons frequently compromises education delivery and the core regime. Many staff are inexperienced, and key worker sessions remain at a low 30% for the third consecutive year, well below the 74% target, limiting vital one-to-one engagement with prisoners. Healthcare also experiences staffing pressures, though the quality of service has not been compromised.
Healthcare
Healthcare staff are highly commended for providing timely medication and care, with few issues in physical healthcare despite staffing pressures and an increase in the age range of the population. Waiting times for appointments have increased. The DART team shows good collaboration and effectively delivers harm reduction advice. However, mental healthcare delivery faces problems with staff access to prisoners and suitable meeting locations, leading to difficulties in running group sessions.
Regime & Daily Life
Improvements were noted in the regime towards the end of the reporting period, with a re-profiled core day allowing more time out of cells and increased purposeful activity, which boosted morale among prisoners and staff. However, for much of the year, the regime was limited due to staffing shortages, resulting in prisoners spending excessive time in cells and frequent cancellations of education and workshops. The consistently low rate of key worker sessions (30%) remains a significant concern, limiting one-to-one dialogue and leaving prisoners unclear about their progression.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 2 | 0 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 1 | 1 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 0 | 2 | |
| Equality | 0 | 0 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 2 | 0 | |
| Food and kitchens | 4 | 0 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 3 | 2 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 4 | 3 | |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 2 | 1 | |
| Property within the establishment | 7 | 0 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 7 | 7 | — |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 7 | 1 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 6 | 4 | |
| Transfers | 5 | 3 |
Recommendations (10)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Many ageing establishments, including Deerbolt, require significant investment for maintenance and upkeep. How does the Minister plan to secure ample funding for this purpose?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
Despite population pressures, how will the Minister ensure that HMPPS is held accountable for ensuring prisoners are located as close as is reasonably possible to their families to better support and enable family contact, as recommended in Lord Farmer's report?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
We now have a dozen IPP prisoners at Deerbolt who do not understand what it is they need to do in order to gain release (particularly when they are past their original sentenced detention date) and whether Deerbolt can, in fact, offer the level of service necessary to let them attain their release. May we have clarity from the Minister on how to achieve certainty for each individual prisoner?
Ministry of Justice
Progression
Recommendation 4
Given the number of services that a prison leaver often needs to access on release, how will the Minister ensure that prisons are adequately equipped to deliver on their designated roles? Also, in cases where establishments operate beyond their standard functions, such as training prisons handling prisoners in their resettlement phase, how will the Minister guarantee sufficient resources and support (as stated in the Prisons Strategy White Paper), ensuring equal attention and expert guidance for those in training prisons nearing release?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
While acknowledging the need to support establishments across the country, how will HMPPS ensure that staffing levels and site-specific demands are considered before assigning staff to other locations? Will the focus be on enabling each site to maintain a full operational regime rather than mandating a percentage of staff to be sent on detached duty, potentially compromising the functioning of the sending establishment?
HMPPS
Staffing
Response
HMPPS say they have hired an occupational psychologist to look into the staffing levels at Deerbolt and will do exit interviews with outgoing staff. The IMB is still concerned with the approach to uniquely address staffing levels at Deerbolt, despite this response. Although we would say that recruitment has improved but attrition rates are the key concern.
Recommendation 6
Deerbolt's location is in a semi-rural area remote from the main centres. Is this recognised and how will this be factored into holding onto existing staff and further recruitment?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 7
What oversight does the Governor have over the prioritisation of works within the establishment?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 8
HMP/YOI Deerbolt is an important employer in the local community: are there further plans to improve the visibility of the prison in the community?
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 9
The Board recommends that the prison makes these documents [incentives scheme and facilities list] readily available on each wing.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 10
The Board believes that HMPPS needs to improve the property-handling process and access to the facilities’ list, which sets out when clothing parcels can be applied for and the process for an application.
HMPPS
Property
Other IMB Reports for Deerbolt
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
3 Dec 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.