Prison
Cat B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Isle of Wight
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 28 September 2023
HMP Isle of Wight experienced a challenging 2022, marked by a population increase and the gradual easing of Covid restrictions, which allowed for a return to some normal regime activities. However, chronic staff shortages significantly hampered access to work, education, and healthcare, leading to prisoners spending considerable time locked up. The Board raised serious concerns regarding the inadequacy of mental health provision, the impact of staff shortages on all aspects of prison life, and the need for clarity and funding for the estate and the management of the Category C prisoner population.
Positive Findings
The regime gradually returned to some normality following Covid restrictions, allowing more regular work and reduced cases. The IMB remained focused, with members playing an important role and new members recruited during the year. Pro-active steps were taken to recruit staff and encourage overtime. There were purposeful efforts to improve safety systems and processes, and the reception and induction process was found to be efficient, well-managed, and empathetic. The Listener Service benefited from reduced Covid restrictions, with additional Listeners recruited, and the standard of food prepared by the kitchens was good. Significant refurbishments took place, and equality issues were dealt with thoughtfully, including the establishment of new forums. The chaplaincy team provided support, and a new IEP forum was successfully established. Excellent support for older prisoners was provided by AGE UK, and the training of Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) mentors was a positive development.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Chronic staff shortages, limiting access to association, work, education, progression, exercise and healthcare, and impacting confidence and competence of new staff.
Mental Health
Repeated
Urgent need to strengthen mental health provision and to carefully consider decisions about the relocation of individuals with complex mental health conditions from secure locations to mainstream prisons. Mental Health Department needs to be brought up to establishment strength and staffing prioritised for health care appointments.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Importance of early funding decisions to support key infrastructure work, as many buildings remain in poor condition and the laundry remained out of action.
Overcrowding
Need for an early decision on whether the prison will continue to hold a significant number of Category C prisoners, and on the location of Category C and B prisoners within the establishment.
Safety
Repeated
Need to ensure timely and full compliance with requirements of ACCTs, CSIPs and Use of Force reviews, as performance in completing these records was patchy.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Key Worker targets in terms of their frequency need to be met and their quality assured, as the objective was not consistently met.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Need for a new focus on meeting literacy targets and improving the availability of programmes. Restoring regular library access is key.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison faced persistent staffing shortages across all departments, which severely limited regime delivery and access to services. Pro-active steps, including local advertising and recruitment days, were taken to address these shortages, alongside initiatives to encourage overtime. Despite these efforts, staffing problems continued to affect key worker allocation, with many new recruits lacking experience in this critical role. The Offender Management Unit, in particular, operated with significantly fewer staff than required, leading to high prisoner-to-manager ratios and vulnerabilities in essential functions like sentence calculations.
Healthcare
While the general standard of healthcare met public requirements, access was detrimentally affected by staff absences, leading to numerous cancelled appointments due to a lack of health professionals and escorting officers. The Mental Health Department was chronically understaffed throughout the year, hindering timely service provision and struggling to manage increasing referrals, particularly with the inward transfer of prisoners with complex mental health issues from secure hospitals. This relocation of high-need individuals to a mainstream prison lacking specialist facilities remains a significant concern, as does the ongoing delay in transferring prisoners requiring hospital admission under the Mental Health Act.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime saw a gradual loosening of Covid restrictions in 2022, leading to the return of some work, education, exercise, and communal worship opportunities. However, the benefits of this were often blunted by chronic staff shortages, which resulted in prisoners continuing to spend considerable periods locked up and limited access to purposeful activity. The prison also faced challenges in responding to the different entitlements and expectations of a significant number of newly arriving Category C prisoners, further impacting the regime.
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 | 62 | 10 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 3 | 14 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 6 | 2 | |
| Equality | 13 | 8 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 11 | 20 | |
| Food and kitchens | 11 | 4 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 54 | 38 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 29 | 28 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 66 | 57 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 13 | 17 | |
| Property within this establishment | 24 | 13 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 29 | 11 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 42 | 20 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 62 | 53 | |
| Transfers | 44 | 10 |
Recommendations (10)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 6
7 repeated
Recommendation 1
This was another difficult year with the prison continuing to face Covid challenges while managing an increasing population of Category C prisoners. Welcome progress was made towards a more normal regime as Covid restrictions were relaxed. However, the anticipated benefits of this were severely limited by chronic staff shortages. This resulted in prisoners remaining locked up for considerable periods of time limiting their access to association, work, education, opportunities for progression, exercise and health care, including mental health services. Outcomes for prisoners (and their successful resettlement) are unlikely to improve significantly without addressing this issue matched by steps to improve the confidence and competence of many new staff replacing the more experienced who have left the prison service.
Other
(minister)
Staffing, Regime, Resettlement
Recommendation 2
the importance of an early decision on whether the prison will continue to hold a significant number of Category C prisoners. Time and resources are being put into making the necessary adjustments to support the accommodation of these prisoners which may prove nugatory should the prison revert to primarily holding Category B prisoners
HMPPS
Overcrowding, Regime
Recommendation 3
Repeated
the urgent need to strengthen mental health provision and to carefully consider decisions about the relocation of individuals with complex mental health conditions from secure locations to mainstream prisons
HMPPS
Mental Health
Recommendation 4
Repeated
the importance of early funding decisions to support key infrastructure work.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 5
Repeated
we acknowledge efforts to improve systems and process key to safety but note the need to ensure timely and full compliance with requirements of ACCTs, CSIPs and Use of Force reviews.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 6
an early decision on the location of Category C and B prisoners in the establishment would benefit both prisoners and staff.
Governor / Director
Regime, Overcrowding
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Key Worker targets in terms of their frequency need to be met and their quality assured.
Governor / Director
Staffing, Regime
Recommendation 8
Repeated
recognising the staffing challenges, the Mental Health Department needs to be brought up to establishment strength.
Governor / Director
Mental Health, Staffing
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Efforts should also be made to prioritise staffing to escort prisoners for health care appointments.
Governor / Director
Healthcare, Staffing
Recommendation 10
Repeated
there is need for a new focus on meeting literacy targets and improving the availability of programmes. Restoring regular library access is key.
Governor / Director
Education, Purposeful Activity
Other IMB Reports for Isle of Wight
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.