Prison
Cat local category B resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Doncaster
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 21 November 2023
HMP Doncaster has shown overall improvements in calmness, cleanliness, and staff-prisoner engagement despite challenges. Key strengths include support for transgender prisoners and multiple faiths, appropriate segregation use, and positive resettlement initiatives like the 'departure lounge'. However, concerns remain regarding persistent restricted regimes due to staffing levels, the experience mix of officers, and prisoners' lack of confidence in complaint systems for equality issues and effective engagement with healthcare processes.
Positive Findings
The Board views that the prison has improved across most observable indicators, feeling calmer, cleaner, and with improved staff-prisoner engagement. There is good awareness and respectful engagement with transgender prisoners, and all faiths are well-supported. The discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) procedure has been refreshed, and segregation is used appropriately with a focus on reintegration. The prison provides healthcare to some who would not access it outside, and the development of a 'market street' with workshops and a 'departure lounge' for men on release are positive developments.
Key Concerns
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison is not yet able to offer a full regime on all days, primarily due to insufficient officers, impacting prisoners' access to activities.
Staffing
The ratio of newer officers against experienced officers is likely to be less than optimum over the coming year, raising concerns about overall staff expertise and confidence.
Equality/Diversity
Prisoners lack confidence in the investigation of equality/discrimination concerns, perceiving unfairness and believing 'the system' will not provide meaningful investigation or appropriate outcomes.
Healthcare
A number of prisoners are not able to engage effectively with healthcare, leading to them not making the best use of available care provision due to a lack of understanding of processes or agency.
Other
There is concern that inflation and rising canteen prices will adversely impact the spending power of earnings from prison work, particularly for prisoners who rely entirely on this income.
Overcrowding
The sharing of cells is the norm, with limited space and a shared toilet screened only by a curtain, which is a long-standing decency concern.
Complaints/Property
Frequent loss of prisoners' property within the establishment, impacting morale and wellbeing, particularly for those with limited personal money or items of high sentimental value.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing has been an issue with retention and recruitment, but there has been an improvement with new officers recruited, trained, and commencing duties. The Board respects the new officers but remains concerned about the mix of experienced and less experienced staff, as competence and confidence in a challenging prison environment grow with experience.
Healthcare
The Board acknowledges the dedicated service of healthcare professionals, particularly during Covid. Some prisoners receive care in prison they wouldn't access outside, positively impacting their health. However, healthcare applications form the largest proportion of IMB applications, often due to prisoners' lack of understanding of effective complaint processes and uncertainty about waiting periods or cancelled external appointments.
Regime & Daily Life
Regime restrictions were initially imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have continued due to insufficient officers for a full regime. This has prevented men from accessing activities, showers, and more, causing negative impacts. A recent change in August 2022 aims to reduce the impact of restricted regimes by allowing men to access off-wing activities like education and the gym.
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 | 28 | 17 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 5 | 9 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 11 | 9 | |
| Equality | 8 | 9 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 11 | 4 | |
| Food and kitchens | 11 | 3 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 65 | 43 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 9 | 10 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 5 | 9 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 11 | 4 | |
| Property within this establishment | 41 | 29 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 34 | 4 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 18 | 11 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 46 | 58 | |
| Transfers | 5 | 10 |
Recommendations (5)
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 2
Recommendation 1
ensuring there are sufficient officers in post to offer a full regime
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 2
monitoring the mix of experienced and less experienced officers
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 3
protecting the spending power of prisoners’ prison work earnings.
HMPPS
Welfare
Recommendation 4
measures to improve prisoner confidence in the DIRF system
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 5
measures to improve prisoner ability to engage effectively with healthcare.
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Other IMB Reports for Doncaster
2023
Published 17 Jul 2025
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.