Prison
Cat multi-functional complex adult and young adult cat
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Norwich
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 19 July 2023
The IMB report for HMP/YOI Norwich highlights persistent staff shortages as the overarching issue, leading to a restricted regime with prisoners locked up for extended periods daily. Key concerns include high levels of self-harm and violence, an overstretched mental health team, and a lack of purposeful activity and rehabilitation programs for long-term and IPP prisoners. The Board also notes the inhumane detention of foreign national prisoners beyond their sentences and prisoners with severe mental health issues in unsuitable facilities.
Positive Findings
The Board acknowledges the continued efforts and teamwork of prison and civilian staff who went above and beyond despite staff shortages. Safeguarding of vulnerable prisoners is thorough, and multi-disciplinary discussions ensure good support. Healthcare provision is broadly equivalent to community standards, with initiatives like the Buvidal pilot and a Hepatitis C Cepheid machine. The reducing reoffending team has increased employment opportunities, especially for Britannia House residents, and family services providers worked hard to maintain family contact. Staff generally show professionalism and care towards prisoners, and the equality and diversity team is active in promoting inclusion and addressing discrimination. Strong multi-faith pastoral support is maintained.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Repeated
The continued staff shortages have overshadowed all aspects of prison life.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
At the time of writing much of the prison remains on restricted regime, with most prisoners being locked up for half a day every day.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Accommodation in L wing, HCC, E wing and the segregation unit is outdated and would benefit from refurbishment and modernisation. Some of the wings have leaking roofs and, as reported year on year by the IMB, are not satisfactory.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Accommodation fabric and decency checks (AFDCs) have been of variable quality, with some cells not cleaned before the arrival of new prisoners.
Staffing
Repeated
The useful key worker programme continues to be curtailed due to staff shortages.
Safety
Repeated
Levels of self-harm in the prison population remain high.
Mental Health
The mental health team is overstretched.
Safety
Repeated
Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are too frequent and there has been an increase in gang-related assaults on the wings involving multiple individuals.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Current inductions are confusing to some new prisoners, particularly foreign national prisoners. Use of the language line and other facilities for translation is limited.
Overcrowding
Repeated
As reported for many years, the prison is overpopulated and toilet facilities in doubled-up cells lack essential privacy.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
There are currently seven foreign national prisoners at Norwich whose sentences have expired. One is a man convicted of shoplifting, who has remained in custody for two years after his sentence expired. His continued detention is neither fair nor humane.
Healthcare
The low number of prison staff means that many GP and dentistry appointments are cancelled. There are issues with the delivery of medication.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
There is no funding for accredited interventions and offending behaviour programmes (OBPs) and there is nothing for long-term sentenced prisoners and those serving imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs) to help demonstrate a reduction in risk.
Equality/Diversity
Foreign national prisoners struggle to use the [video call] system and there are no instructions available in foreign languages to assist their families in setting up these calls.
Mental Health
Repeated
Delays in finding suitable outside secure mental health facilities lead to prisoners being held for long periods in segregation facilities.
Food/Catering
Serveries on the main site (A, B and C wings) were not monitored appropriately by staff. IMB members routinely observed that some prisoners took extra food... Servery orderlies and staff confirmed that there were often insufficient meals for all the prisoners, as food had gone astray due to lack of supervision.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Due to issues with Whitemoor laundry service, it was frequently reported to the Board, and confirmed by officers, that there had been no clothing or bedding exchange.
Segregation
Repeated
The segregation unit building is no longer up to standard.
Mental Health
Repeated
The Board is concerned that prisoners with mental health issues continue to be held in the segregation unit as there is no other suitable place of safety should they be violent and disruptive.
Segregation
Repeated
Some prisoners are in the segregation unit for long periods of time, repeatedly being signed up for extended periods in the unit by the prison group director (PGD).
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
There is little to occupy the segregated prisoners except for limited in-cell education packs, access to a radio, and regular access to the library trolley at mealtimes and distraction packs. There are no gym facilities and exercise is offered daily in two small bare yards.
Complaints/Property
Complaint forms are not freely available on all landings and have only just become available in foreign languages.
Other
Repeated
The management of property, in particular transfers between establishments, is poor and cannot be deemed to be treating prisoners in a reasonable manner. Property losses feature among the highest concerns for prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Continued staff shortages have severely impacted all aspects of prison life, leading to a restricted regime, limited activities, and the curtailment of the useful key worker programme. Key workers have been diverted to support the most vulnerable prisoners, and newly trained officers lack experience with a normal regime. Low staffing levels have also led to cancelled healthcare appointments, diverted PE staff, and inadequate monitoring of servery areas. Many staff are unfamiliar with translation services, hindering support for foreign national prisoners.
Healthcare
Healthcare services are broadly equivalent to those in the community, with positive initiatives like the Buvidal pilot, a Hepatitis C Cepheid machine, and in-cell phone lines to improve patient communication. A dental clinician on-site can undertake work previously requiring external trips. However, low staff numbers frequently lead to cancelled GP and dentistry appointments, and medication delivery is often untimely, with prisoners sometimes not understanding prison prescribing differences. Waiting times for physiotherapy and podiatry are unacceptably long, and mental health caseloads are very heavy, contributing to delays in transfers to secure mental health facilities.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison has remained on a restricted regime for much of the reporting year due to staff shortages, with most prisoners locked up for half a day every day. This significantly limits time out of cell, adversely affecting mental health and reducing access to activities, education, and gym sessions. Unlock times are often inconsistent, and PE staff are frequently diverted to other duties, resulting in planned gym hours not being completed. The lack of structured activity also contributes to high levels of self-harm and violence among prisoners.
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) | 20 | 18 | |
| Discrimination | 2 | 1 | |
| Food | 6 | 8 | |
| Healthcare | 10 | 12 | |
| Other | 25 | 20 | |
| Property | 45 | 38 | |
| Staff actions | 8 | 4 |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 2
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the minister please explain why there were still seven prisoners serving IPP sentences and 14 life-sentenced prisoners in HMP/YOI Norwich at the end of February 2023 without their being any offending behaviour programmes or accredited interventions to allow progression to release?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
The Board did not feel that the minister’s reply addressed the specific problem it had raised. The Board is aware of the national initiatives that the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has in place for prisoners on IPP sentences: a bespoke and regularly refreshed IPP plan for every individual. Our concern is that there are no such action plans in place at Norwich. We monitor the mental health provision closely and can see no evidence of prisoners subject to IPP being assisted in achieving release from prison, as there are no programmes at Norwich to reduce their reoffending. In addition, the changes to the eligibility criteria for category D status mean that these prisoners are further disadvantaged in getting the skills required to assist in their release.
Recommendation 2
Will the minister please explain why prisoners with severe mental health issues or learning difficulties are still being held in custody?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
In his response of 19 August 2022, the minister wrote that the draft Mental Health Bill will ‘improve support for people with acute mental health needs that are in contact with the criminal justice system’. This bill has yet to reach the statute book.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the minister please explain why seven foreign national prisoners are still in HMP/YOI Norwich despite the expiry of their sentences?
Ministry of Justice
Equality
Response
In his reply to the 2021/2022 report, the minister stated that foreign national prisoners are usually there because they have been assessed as unsuitable for immigration removal centres, as they pose a high risk to others. The Board contends that this does not apply to all of those detainees and notes that one individual was sentenced for shoplifting. The Board accepts that foreign nationals with more serious convictions may require further investigation but can see no evidence of this taking place. The Board acknowledges the MOJ’s confirmation that the continued incarceration of foreign nationals beyond expiry of their sentences is neither fair nor humane. The Board is surprised that further intensive action to secure their release from prison is not being pursued.
Recommendation 4
Repeated
When will the new policy framework relating to prisoners detained in segregation be published?
HMPPS
Segregation
Response
Following concerns raised by the Board in 2021/2022 regarding prisoners detained in the segregation unit for long periods of time, the Prison Service advised that a review of Prison Service Order 1700 (Segregation) was taking place, with a new policy framework due to be published in spring 2023.
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Are there plans for the refurbishment of the other outdated buildings?
HMPPS
Estate
Response
Despite the refurbishment of the Elizabeth Fry wing, due for completion in 2024, and the installation of the new M wing, there still remain many other areas of the prison in need of modernisation: the healthcare unit, L wing, E wing, F wing and the segregation unit.
Other IMB Reports for Norwich
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.