Prison
Cat C training
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Whatton
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 19 October 2023
HMP Whatton, a Category C training prison, had an average population of 802 against an operational capacity of 817. While staff maintained a safe environment and implemented a normal daily regime, the Board highlighted concerns including increased assaults, high self-harm incidents, and significant delays in transferring mentally unwell prisoners to secure care. Substandard B wing accommodation and inadequate resettlement support for released prisoners were also noted.
Positive Findings
HMP Whatton's staff ensured a safe environment with strong safety leadership, and the majority of prisoners reported feeling safe. The prison returned to a normal daily regime, expanding purposeful activities post-pandemic. Healthcare services were prioritized despite staffing shortages, and there was a significant reduction in transfers to Category D prisons awaiting transfer. The prison maintained good catering standards and the CSU staff provided high standards of care. Healthcare staffing improved, and the mental health team was at full complement. The education department achieved a 92% qualification rate, and many vocational training opportunities were available, including a successful construction course and a productive horticulture program. The re-categorisation backlog for open conditions was cleared, and 100% of prisoners had housing arranged on release. Visiting facilities were upgraded, and the introduction of in-cell telephones is expected to improve privacy and accessibility.
Key Concerns
Safety
Increased levels of assaults on both staff and prisoners.
Safety
Increased levels of self-harm remain a concern, with a number of chronic and acute self-harmers responsible for a high proportion of incidents.
Resettlement/Release
Prisoners released from HMP Whatton, a training prison, are at a disadvantage regarding resettlement support due to lack of dedicated staffing or finance, despite approximately 200 prisoners being released annually into the community.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The substandard accommodation in the B wings, containing some of the smallest cells in the prison estate and deemed unfit for purpose, continues to be a concern, with no funding available for replacement and pipework replacement delayed by 12 months.
Healthcare
Repeated
Healthcare services continue to be under great pressure, particularly due to ongoing shortages of specialist healthcare staff and the poor condition of healthcare accommodation.
Education/Purposeful Activity
A significant backlog of prisoners awaiting accredited offending behaviour programmes remains a concern, impacting sentence plans, parole hearings, and release dates.
Resettlement/Release
Changes in the parole system and high rejection rates of Parole Board recommendations are causing significant anguish among prisoners, particularly those with sexual offence convictions, regarding potential delays to Category D transfers and release.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Progression for IPP prisoners remains a significant concern, with increased anxiety following the government's rejection of Justice Select Committee recommendations on re-sentencing and licence periods.
Mental Health
Repeated
Delays in transferring prisoners needing secure psychiatric care to hospital, exceeding the proposed 28-day statutory limit, continue to be an issue.
Safety
Repeated
The Eureka key security system has been unserviceable for over three years, awaiting replacement.
Staffing
Key working has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, and there are concerns that not all prison staff prioritize it adequately.
Other
Repeated
The new property framework for prisoners’ property has shown no evidence of meeting its objectives in improving transfers between establishments, leading to continued losses and distress.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing shortages continue to impact various areas, including healthcare, where specialist roles are difficult to recruit, and key worker sessions, which are often cancelled due to detached duty, training, or escorts. The Board is concerned that not all staff prioritize key work. Routine training has also been affected by pressures to maintain staff levels, and prison offender manager caseloads remain high due to staff shortages.
Healthcare
Healthcare services, provided by Practice Plus Group, continue to face pressure but prioritize physical and mental health despite staffing shortages, though specialist mental health roles remain hard to fill. The dilapidated healthcare accommodation, with cramped spaces, mould, and damp, impedes service provision. While the mental health team is now at full complement, significant delays persist in transferring prisoners with acute mental health needs to secure hospitals, leading to prolonged stays in CSU, which is unsuitable. Social care is provided for elderly and disabled prisoners by Nottinghamshire Social Services.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison has largely returned to a normal daily regime with pre-pandemic levels of time out of cell, and purposeful activities like gym access and workshops are operating at full capacity. However, staff shortages still lead to regime changes at short notice, and education access was restricted earlier in the reporting year by COVID-19 and sporadic lockdowns. While re-categorisation to open conditions has improved, some prisoners still await Secretary of State approval for Category D moves.
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 | 9 | 2 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 7 | 8 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 13 | 5 | |
| Equality | 0 | 1 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 10 | 4 | |
| Food and kitchens | 9 | 7 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 16 | 14 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 18 | 12 | |
| Miscellaneous | 31 | 57 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 15 | 18 | |
| Property within the establishment | 11 | 20 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 13 | 11 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 10 | 10 | — |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 13 | 10 | |
| Total number of applications | 183 | 182 | |
| Transfers | 8 | 3 |
Recommendations (6)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 1
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the Minister reconsider the recommendation of the Justice Select Committee to commission a re-sentencing exercise for all prisoners on IPP sentences?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Minister commit to a date when the statutory limit of 28 days for transfers of prisoners needing secure psychiatric care, which was referred to in the previous Minister’s response to our report last year, will be passed into law?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
Will the Prison Service ensure that adequate funding is made available to HMP Whatton to provide for effective and meaningful resettlement training for its prisoners approaching release?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Prison Service confirm to the Board that the new property framework for prisoners’ property is meeting the objective(s) of the new framework, and share any data that is available to show that improvements have been made and the new framework is on target to achieve its objectives? How will you ensure that improvements are being made?
HMPPS
Property
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Prison Service give us a timescale for the installation of the replacement Eureka system?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 6
Will the Governor ensure that key working remains a priority and the correct level of engagement with prisoners is maintained?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Other IMB Reports for Whatton
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
15 Jan 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 2
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.