Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Holme House
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 4 July 2023
HMP Holme House demonstrated significant improvements in 2022, effectively recovering from Covid-19 disruptions and enhancing safety, healthcare, and resettlement services. While the prison maintained a safe and humane environment, key challenges included slow estate maintenance, deterioration in food quality, and the disproportionate impact of a growing young adult population on violence and self-harm. The IMB also highlighted issues with contractual transparency and the provision of adequate programs for vulnerable prisoners, making several recommendations to address these concerns.
Positive Findings
HMP Holme House demonstrated strong recovery from Covid-19, with many services returning to normal and significant improvements noted in general prison operations. The Board found the prison safe, with a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and low staff assault rates. Healthcare provision was good, with timely treatment, improved dental services reducing waiting times to 12 weeks, and no GP waiting list. The Offender Management Unit also provided a good service, and new prisoner induction was improved. The Board was impressed by compassionate palliative care, increased use of body-worn cameras, drone technology trials for security, and efforts to reduce unscreened toilets. The use of the SIU was significantly reduced, and equality assurance meetings were established, leading to recognition for safeguarding vulnerable prisoners. Positive outcomes were observed from the animal-assisted therapeutic wing and the Code 4000 program.
Key Concerns
Other
Repeated
The Board remains concerned about contractual standards not being available for the IMB to understand. We observe long waits for some repairs and cannot monitor them because we do not know what the performance indicators are.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Repairs and maintenance are slow and therefore the backlog increases. Cell and house block repairs, floors, kitchen equipment and other areas of disrepair are not carried out effectively and this has caused a number of problems.
Food/Catering
We regret that the bakery has not been able to be operational, because as well as in-house cooked bread tasting better, the kitchen budgets would be less affected by the cost of buying in poor-quality produce.
Food/Catering
Food services have deteriorated for a number of reasons and we would like the Governor to help find extra funding for better quality food and also get repairs to equipment carried out in a more timely manner.
Safety
There was an increase in the number of young adults accommodated in the prison, which has caused an increase in violence and also cultural disquiet amongst older prisoners.
Safety
Notable concerns during the year have been the level of self-harm among younger prisoners and a small number of prisoners who self-harm on repeated occasions.
Resettlement/Release
There are about 50 imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners who have passed their tariff, and the Board considers their treatment to be unfair because they do not have a meaningful sentence plan to work towards.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Some programmes required by vulnerable prisoners are not being provided because these men are kept separated from other prisoners and there may not be enough men to justify a class or programme delivery.
Other
Repeated
Prisoners’ property getting lost and not following them from previous prisons ... property (principally missing property) was the highest complaint category.
Staffing
The chaplaincy team has continued to work below its complement and this resulted in some Sunday services being cancelled.
Healthcare
delays between the delivery of equipment into the prison and it being issued to the prisoner
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Education has, with the exception of the catering courses, operated on a classroom-based system. The catering course has operated totally on a paper-based system, as the kitchen has been unavailable due to major system failures.
Education/Purposeful Activity
number of those [allocated to education] attending has reduced to nearer 80%.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The chaplaincy team continued to operate below its full complement. While the Board notes that the number of healthcare staffing shortages improved with agency and bank nurses, there remains scope to improve key worker session delivery and compliance, with an average of 54% of sessions completed. Prisoners also expressed concerns that new staff, due to a lack of interaction skills, did not foster good relationships.
Healthcare
Healthcare services by Spectrum were deemed good, with timely and effective treatment. Significant improvements were made to primary care, with GP waiting lists eliminated and assessment waiting times reduced. The dental service drastically improved, cutting routine appointment waits from over a year to 12 weeks. The mental health team, led by an award-winning leader, continued to provide comprehensive interventions, and the inpatient unit offered compassionate care, including palliative services.
Regime & Daily Life
Following the end of Covid restrictions, the daily regime settled into a workable pattern with appropriate time out of cell and full gym utilisation. However, some vulnerable prisoners still lacked access to certain programmes due to segregation and insufficient numbers. Initially, a small number of prisoners were reluctant to return to work and education, preferring to remain in their cells, though this issue was largely resolved by the year's end. Furthermore, the bakery was not operational, and catering courses were disrupted due to kitchen maintenance issues, preventing prisoners from developing valuable skills.
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 (including work & education) | 24 | 23 | |
| Discipline | 18 | 12 | |
| Discrimination | 7 | 10 | |
| Finance | 18 | 12 | |
| Food | 17 | 2 | |
| Healthcare | 79 | 48 | |
| Legal | 15 | 11 | |
| Other | 41 | 28 | |
| Property | 62 | 25 | |
| Security (including categorisation) | 15 | 17 | |
| Staff/prisoner relationships | 28 | 36 | |
| TOTAL | 369 | 262 |
Recommendations (7)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 2
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
We would like to see funding being provided to the prison in a timely manner to ensure that essential repairs can be carried out when they are needed.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
We would like to see IPP prisoners being offered a fair process for their release and at least an understanding of how much longer they have to serve and how they can achieve release.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As with last year, the Board remains concerned about contractual standards not being available for the IMB to understand. We observe long waits for some repairs and cannot monitor them because we do not know what the performance indicators are.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Repairs and maintenance are slow and therefore the backlog increases. Cell and house block repairs, floors, kitchen equipment and other areas of disrepair are not carried out effectively and this has caused a number of problems.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 5
We regret that the bakery has not been able to be operational, because as well as in-house cooked bread tasting better, the kitchen budgets would be less affected by the cost of buying in poor-quality produce.
HMPPS
Food
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We would like the Governor to continue to get repairs and maintenance improved.
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 7
Food services have deteriorated for a number of reasons and we would like the Governor to help find extra funding for better quality food and also get repairs to equipment carried out in a more timely manner.
Governor / Director
Food
Other IMB Reports for Holme House
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
6 Mar 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 4
Activity: 2
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.