Prison
Cat YOI, Category C, Resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Brinsford
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 14 November 2023
HMP/YOI Brinsford, a resettlement prison, maintained low levels of self-harm and overall violence compared to similar establishments, with good provision of healthcare and fair treatment for prisoners. However, the report highlights significant ongoing challenges including an inadequate education contract, persistent delays in mental health transfers, and limited, unfulfilling purposeful activity. Infrastructure issues like heating problems and a long-standing leak in reception also remain key concerns.
Positive Findings
In the judgement of the Board, Brinsford remains a safe prison, evidenced through low levels of self-harm and overall violence compared to similar establishments. Prisoners are treated well and fairly, and their healthcare needs are met by Practice Plus Group. Family contact is encouraged, and charities like ‘The Invested man’ have made an incredible impact. The Board notes improvements in staff wellbeing, key worker session delivery, and equality and diversity initiatives, including the appointment of a Neurodiversity Support Manager.
Key Concerns
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The education contract is not up to standard, the curriculum and standards of teaching is poor. It has always proved very difficult to hold the provider to account, to ensure that the prison gets good education provision.
Mental Health
Repeated
There are still prisoners with severe mental illness who need treatment elsewhere and they can be waiting a very long time to get a bed in a secure hospital.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The New heating system has many flaws, caused by an inadequate contract between suppliers & fitters and the MOJ. It has cost further thousands of pounds onto the original cost, all paid for by the public purse. On occasions during the winter units were without any form of heating. This is not acceptable.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The roof over reception is and has been leaking for years, dirty smelly water is always covering the floor of the property room however Brinsford cannot secure the funds to replace the roof.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Activity places are limited and some are not purposeful; for example, prisoners find tea packing boring and unfulfilling resulting in arguments and fighting through lack of engagement. It is important that every prisoner has the opportunity to work or to be in education which will help them on their release into the community.
Resettlement/Release
The length of time prisoners remain on remand before appearing in court continues to be too long. Prisoners are being released into the community following sentencing at court without attending any programmes to examine their offending.
Safety
Gang culture remains a problem that causes friction between prisoners and is often a cause of premeditated violence. In addition, prisoners new to the establishment are joining gangs as they feel there is safety in numbers.
Safety
CSIPs have had an impact on those that need help but not so much on the gang related violence which is proving much harder to correct. CSIP is a useful tool and it is not always given the high profile it needs. The prison is are moving to provide better training for staff on CSIPs so they don't just see it as a programme for violent prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Brinsford experienced staff absences higher than the previous year, averaging 10.99 days per staff member, which occasionally impacted regime delivery. While the senior leadership team is enthusiastic, their messages and directions sometimes failed to reach or be executed by officers, some of whom lacked experience or became lax post-pandemic. High turnover among senior leadership also unsettled the team. The key worker programme remains an area of concern, with staff absences hindering session frequency despite efforts to prioritise it.
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group provides good healthcare services, including in-patient facilities for mental health patients, although Brinsford cares for more such patients than other establishments. There are persistent long-term concerns regarding significant delays in transferring prisoners with diagnosed mental health issues to more appropriate specialist facilities due to a lack of bed capacity elsewhere. Despite this, staff show care and compassion, and requests for medical attention are handled efficiently, though non-attendance by prisoners for appointments remains an issue.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison’s transition to a resettlement facility is hindered by persistent deficiencies in rehabilitative work and preparation for release. Although activity places have increased, many prisoners still work part-time, and the choice of purposeful activity is limited with long waiting lists and a lack of vocational training. The regime is frequently impacted by staff shortages and community study days, leading to prisoners being locked in their cells for entire days, despite efforts to provide regular exercise and evening association for full-time workers.
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 transfers) | 45 | 38 | |
| Activities / work / education | 18 | 16 | |
| Discipline (adjudications, CSU) | 2 | 2 | — |
| Discrimination | 3 | 2 | |
| Food (quantity, quality) | 11 | 12 | |
| Health (medical, dental, mental) | 24 | 33 | |
| Other | 16 | 16 | — |
| Property (lost, damaged) | 45 | 39 | |
| Staff (treatment by) | 11 | 14 | |
| Visits (social, legal) | 16 | 19 |
Recommendations (29)
Ministry of Justice: 8
HMPPS: 11
Governor / Director: 10
17 repeated
Recommendation 1
The contract for the supply and fitting of the new boilers throughout the prison was wholly inadequate. This contract failed to cover the flushing out of the old pipes and failed to fit individual thermostats to units, all adding further costs to the original price. And all at a cost to the public.
Ministry of Justice
Estates/Contracts
Recommendation 2
Further controls are required to the boilers to combat surge protection and to stop the failure to reset across all boilers.
Ministry of Justice
Estates
Recommendation 3
On occasions during the winter units were without any form of heating. This is not acceptable. Prisoners were provided with extra blankets, but this was not good enough.
Ministry of Justice
Estates/Respect
Recommendation 4
Repeated
The education contract is not up to standard, the curriculum and standards of teaching is poor.
Ministry of Justice
Purposeful Activity/Contracts
Recommendation 5
Repeated
When will the Ministry of Justice write adequate contracts that at least favour the prison and not the contractors?
Ministry of Justice
Contracts
Recommendation 6
The length of time prisoners remain on remand before appearing in court continues to be too long. Prisoners are being released into the community following sentencing at court without attending any programmes to examine their offending.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement/Justice System
Recommendation 7
Repeated
There is a long-standing leak in the reception area. The Board has been aware of the leak for two years, if not longer, but it continues to be a major problem. Many hours are spent cleaning up the stained and smelly water as is trying to secure money for the work to be completed. In the meantime, money is spent on small repairs, ‘sticking plaster’ which regularly fails.
Ministry of Justice
Estates
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Estates have had a contractor in to look at this problem and submit a price, which has required the Area Property Operations Manager (APOM) to submit a bid for the repairs. Why is it taking so long for monies to be made available for essential work to be carried out?
Ministry of Justice
Estates/Funding
Recommendation 9
Repeated
The roof over reception is and has been leaking for years, dirty smelly water is always covering the floor of the property room however Brinsford cannot secure the funds to replace the roof. In the meantime, short quick fixes are made which are expensive and unproductive.
HMPPS
Estates/Funding
Recommendation 10
The New heating system has many flaws, caused by an inadequate contract between suppliers & fitters and the MOJ. It has cost further thousands of pounds onto the original cost, all paid for by the public purse.
HMPPS
Estates/Contracts
Recommendation 11
Repeated
The education contract is still not fit for purpose. It has always proved very difficult to hold the provider to account, to ensure that the prison gets good education provision. As mentioned in last year’s report, any new contracts need to be much tighter in what must be provided and how prisons can be compensated for services not provided. Not enough is done to motivate or support prisoners to attend regularly or consistently.
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity/Contracts
Recommendation 12
Repeated
What are you doing about the poorly written contracts? Such as Education and the fitting of the new heating system?
HMPPS
Contracts
Recommendation 13
Repeated
It takes a long time to get any money to pay for essential work, above and beyond the Governor’s budget, what can you do to speed the process up?
HMPPS
Funding/Estates
Recommendation 14
Repeated
Activity places are limited and some are not purposeful; for example, prisoners find tea packing boring and unfulfilling resulting in arguments and fighting through lack of engagement.
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 15
Repeated
It is important that every prisoner has the opportunity to work or to be in education which will help them on their release into the community.
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity/Resettlement
Recommendation 16
The Board recognises that there has been one successful prisoner on ROTL, however for a resettlement prison this is insufficient.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 17
Repeated
The prison is not fully equipped to be a resettlement prison, there isn’t enough training in worthwhile projects for those soon to be released.
HMPPS
Resettlement/Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 18
Forklift truck training is popular but there are only three places available at any one time. For a population in excess of 500 men this is insufficient.
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity/Resettlement
Recommendation 19
Repeated
The loss of property within the establishment or on transfer is a perennial problem. A national bar code system might alleviate the losses.
HMPPS
Respect/Property
Recommendation 20
Repeated
In last year’s report it was stated that more places are needed in both education and work-based activities. We have seen the strides you have made in making this happen, but the Board still feels that there are significant short falls in meaningful activities.
Governor / Director
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 21
Repeated
It was reported in last year’s report that key worker scheme needed to be improved in its quality and in particular in the numbers completed. The Board is pleased that latterly these numbers have increased dramatically, however, when staff shortages occur, often these posts are withdrawn.
Governor / Director
Respect/Staff-Prisoner Relationships
Recommendation 22
The Board recognises that the senior leadership team are enthusiastic, talented and energised to take forward your ideas to improve prisoner outcomes; however the messages did not reach the officers who carry out these management decisions, or they failed to carry out the directions.
Governor / Director
Management/Staff
Recommendation 23
It is unfortunate that so many of the senior leadership team move from Brinsford. It is often for their own personal reasons, but it unsettles the team.
Governor / Director
Management/Staff
Recommendation 24
Following the complete lockdown of the prison during the pandemic, the Board feels some officers became lax in fulfilling their duties, and many lacked the experience of a busy active prison and took the easy option where possible.
Governor / Director
Staff
Recommendation 25
This year the standards coaching team were brought in to train and upskill officers, they also gave them the confidence to challenge prisoners. They have been instrumental in getting officers out of their comfort zone. We eagerly wait to see the improvements becoming part of the daily routine.
Governor / Director
Staff
Recommendation 26
The Board is fully aware of the difficult culture within Brinsford and fully aware of the attempts you have made to change it, to no avail. Improved supervision by middle managers and having experience in other establishments might be helpful.
Governor / Director
Management/Culture
Recommendation 27
Repeated
Gang culture remains a problem that causes friction between prisoners and is often a cause of premeditated violence. In addition, prisoners new to the establishment are joining gangs as they feel there is safety in numbers.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 28
Repeated
Challenge, support and intervention plans (CSIPs) are a good deterrent when they are working properly. Sadly, the Board recognises that they are often seen as less important as other processes & strategies such as assessment, care in custody and teamwork documents (ACCTs). Often the work involved is not completed within a timely manner. Some managers are totally on board with the principles of CSIPs, and are very capable.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 29
Repeated
CSIPs are designed so that all interested agencies work together to find the triggers and reasons for the problems and to work together to solve the issues. Often this doesn’t happen. Perhaps it could be policy driven.
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Brinsford
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
5 Jun 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.