Prison
Cat B, local, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Parc
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 29 September 2023
This report for HMP Parc covers a period dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to significant regime restrictions and staff shortages. Despite these challenges, the Board found that staff maintained a safe environment for prisoners, with reductions in some violent incidents. However, healthcare, mental health support, and purposeful activity were severely impacted by limited resources and external agency support, and concerns persisted regarding drug entry and food quality.
Positive Findings
The Board commends management and staff for effectively maintaining a safe environment and ensuring no lives were lost to Covid during the pandemic, despite staff shortages and restricted regimes. Incidents at height and use of force incidents saw reductions. The reception process for prisoners was found to be positive. Progress was made in reducing GP waiting times to seven days and dental waiting times to seven weeks. Education and work provision received excellent ratings from Estyn, and the offender management team maintained high quality work despite staffing difficulties. The Board also noted thorough Good Order and Discipline reviews and effective equality and diversity initiatives.
Key Concerns
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Despite prisoners being kept in their cells for up to 23 hours per day, and limited social visits, drugs continued to enter the prison.
Staffing
Staff shortages had a serious effect on prisoners, who complained of a lack of communication about curtailment of the regime.
Healthcare
Healthcare continued to face challenges, with continued staff shortages and limited support for those with mental health issues, due to a lack of support from community healthcare.
Mental Health
Waiting lists continued to be protracted, which caused anxiety amongst prisoners particularly in the area of mental health.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Regimes operating during the period severely restricted rehabilitation, with activities mostly wing based.
Healthcare
There continued to be a high level of failed appointments for healthcare, again indicating a need to examine the appointments system to establish where the process is failing.
Food/Catering
Complaints continued regarding food, raising questions over quality, quantity and choice. This raises several questions such as when the provision of food was last reviewed and whether a nutritionist is involved in the process. There is a need to review the catering provision at Parc.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The effectiveness of the library service as it currently operates should be examined to work towards restoring previous levels of uptake across the prison.
Equality/Diversity
The use of force figures for young adults (18–25) are consistently higher than the prison average, as are the figures for the black, Asian and minority ethnic population, suggesting some disproportionality. The Board are not aware of any steps the prison is taking to identify underlying causes for disproportionality.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The reporting period saw significant staff shortages and high churn, placing a greater burden on experienced staff. These shortages frequently led to restricted and split regimes. Despite the challenges, experienced officers were observed to maintain professionalism and empathy. Key work delivery recommenced, and the Board recommended increased pay for prison staff to improve recruitment and retention rates.
Healthcare
Healthcare services faced continued challenges including staff shortages and limited support for mental health issues from community agencies, leading to protracted waiting lists and anxiety among prisoners. GP services operated daily with urgent cases seen face-to-face, reducing waiting times to seven days, though non-specific appointment times sometimes led to missed consultations. Dental waiting times improved to seven weeks, and physiotherapy showed positive attendance, while opticians still had long waits. The prison also administered 2,500 Covid vaccinations.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime was severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions and staff shortages, often resulting in prisoners being confined to cells for extended periods and a lack of communication regarding changes. This led to indiscipline and restricted purposeful activity, with most activities becoming wing-based. Education and industries recommenced with restrictions. The incentives scheme was partially suspended, and the gym and workshops experienced closures and reduced attendance, though Parc was an early adopter in reopening workshops.
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 | 3 | 5 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 2 | — | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives, sanctions | 6 | 4 | |
| Equality | 7 | — | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 11 | — | |
| Food and kitchens | 7 | — | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 12 | 3 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 18 | 1 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 15 | — | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 11 | 2 | |
| Property within this establishment | 10 | 1 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 12 | — | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 3 | 1 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 16 | 1 | |
| Total number of applications | 130 | 9 | |
| Transfers | 7 | — |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 3
Recommendation 1
Can you work with G4S encouraging them to increase the pay for prison staff in order to increase recruitment and retention rates?
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 2
Will the Prison Service work with the contractor to increase the capacity of offending behaviour programmes and interventions at Parc, including those for prisoners convicted of sexual offences, as recommended by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, so that prisoners can benefit from these without needing to transfer to another prison?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
There continued to be a high level of failed appointments for healthcare, again indicating a need to examine the appointments system to establish where the process is failing.
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
Complaints continued regarding food, raising questions over quality, quantity and choice. This raises several questions such as when the provision of food was last reviewed and whether a nutritionist is involved in the process. There is a need to review the catering provision at Parc.
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 5
The effectiveness of the library service as it currently operates should be examined to work towards restoring previous levels of uptake across the prison.
Governor / Director
Education