Prison
Cat B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Hewell
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 15 March 2023
HMP Hewell, a Category B local prison, has shown continued progress in improving safety, cleanliness, and overall humane treatment. Positive developments include enhanced physical healthcare and the establishment of a mental health unit. However, the report highlights persistent challenges such as overcrowding, the poor physical condition of the estate, delays in court proceedings impacting remand prisoners, and slow implementation of a rehabilitative culture, alongside inadequate provision for prisoners with complex needs and disabilities.
Positive Findings
The Board is pleased to report that HMP Hewell has continued its momentum towards improvement, becoming safer, better managed, cleaner, and more humane. The general feel of the prison and its cleanliness are commendable. Funding from the performance support programme has enabled physical improvements and access to innovative pilot schemes. Excellent work is carried out in helping prisoners maintain family links, aided by in-cell telephony and social video calls.
Key Concerns
Other
Repeated
There should be a more concerted effort to reduce the number of IPP prisoners.
Mental Health
Repeated
There should be increased services and level of provision for prisoners who have severe mental health, psychological or social needs, many of whom are held in segregation for their own safety; this would free up prison resources to work with other prisoners.
Overcrowding
Repeated
There should be capital investment to end the practice of men cell sharing, with an open toilet in the space where they are expected to sleep, eat and live; this would reduce friction between prisoners and increase prisoner respect and engagement with the regime. This is an inhumane practice.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Ministers should use their influence to reduce the number of remanded prisoners, and the length of time for cases to be heard in courts.
Resettlement/Release
The Prison Service should recognise the gap between rhetoric and reality in respect of their national aspirations for resettlement and reducing reoffending. However good the education, vocational training and employment support in prison, homelessness, poverty and the current economic situation makes many of the stated aspirations totally unrealistic. This is exacerbated by the high number of remand prisoners in local prisons like Hewell. Ministers should support the Prison and Probation services by setting and achieving relevant and necessary targets for services that provide homes, access to employment and skills training after prison.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
While the Prison Service cannot replace all prison buildings that are unfit for purpose, it should allocate increased funding for improvements, particularly in respect of men who have a disability, accessibility or social care need.
Mental Health
The Prison Service, working with the Probation Service, should place more emphasis on therapeutic interventions to address longstanding trauma, neurodiversity and social/psychological problems of prisoners. Too many come into the prison and leave without any intervention; this mitigates against successful resettlement and reduction in reoffending. It is not enough to pin change on the introduction of key work delivered by officers with minimal training in this skilled area.
Staffing
Linked to the comments above, the Prison Service should lobby for sufficient resources to staff prisons appropriately and ensure that staff conditions of service attract and retain the right people to prison roles.
Healthcare
Healthcare contracts should be reviewed to ensure that there is safe out-of-hours cover; this will improve the health, safety and wellbeing of prisoners, reduce the number of staff hours needed to escort men to outside provision, and reduce the pressure on already overstretched ambulance and NHS resources.
Mental Health
Maintain the integrity of the Oak unit, build on its success and continue to support and enhance its development; reduce the use of this unit for men who do not meet the criteria but are housed there due to lack of other accommodation.
Staffing
Repeated
Increase momentum on culture change to ensure staff are curious, proactive and engaged and do not accept the unacceptable; identify and decisively address people or process issues that are blocking change. Pathway planning and key work is core to the change and should be given priority in all but the direst of staffing situations.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Continue to seek investment/funding opportunities to improve the physical building, in particular facilities for prisoners who have disabilities and accessibility needs.
Safety
Implement the findings of the security audit to improve the safety of the prison to reduce the potential for illicit items and the impact of this on prisoner behaviour and the effective running of the regime.
Resettlement/Release
Take steps to ensure that the focus on maintaining and fostering family links becomes embedded across all aspects of the prison.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Remove the seeming paralysis around embedding a focus on equality issues within the prison.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff absences due to Covid-19 continued to interrupt the regime, affecting staff retention and engagement. The prison has maintained the same Governor, but reshuffles of functional leads occurred due to staff movements and the need for expertise. Staffing shortages negatively impacted education provision and prevented the full embedding of key work, as officers were moved for cover. The Prison Service is urged to lobby for sufficient resources to attract and retain suitable staff.
Healthcare
The provision of physical healthcare has improved, with access to GPs and dentists comparable to the community and better medication dispensation. Mental health provision has benefited from the established 15-bedded Oak Unit for complex needs. However, there are ongoing concerns about delays in mental health assessments and the lack of appropriate specialist placements for seriously mentally ill men, who are often inappropriately held in segregation.
Regime & Daily Life
The restricted regime due to Covid-19 led to prisoners spending unacceptably long times in their cells, limiting engagement in meaningful activities. The prison's role as a local facility with high churn and a large remand population creates daily challenges for regime delivery and preparation for release. The continued practice of cell sharing in single cells, with open toilets, is deemed inhumane and impacts privacy and dignity. Progress in embedding pathway planning and key working for a rehabilitative approach has been slow.
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 | |
| Allegations of unfair treatment | 6 | 9 | |
| Discipline | 12 | 19 | |
| Food | 4 | 2 | |
| Health & Welfare | 134 | 163 | |
| Immigration | 0 | 0 | |
| Information requests | 8 | 13 | |
| Other | 12 | 14 | |
| Property/money | 17 | 11 | |
| Security/Privileges/Home Detention Curfew | 23 | 29 | |
| Total | 276 | 318 | |
| Visits | 10 | 12 | |
| Work/Education/Activities | 5 | 8 |
Recommendations (15)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 4
NHS / Healthcare Provider: 1
Governor / Director: 6
8 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
There should be a more concerted effort to reduce the number of IPP prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
Board members continue to meet IPP prisoners, both those never released and many, many years over tariff and those recalled, who despair of ever being released. We have seen no evidence of attempts to manage the sentences of these individuals with any focus on forward progression. Nor have we seen recognition that the despair of endless detention results in self-destructive behaviour, leading to the use of segregation and challenges to discipline within the prison. This, in turn, causes these prisoners to fail at the parole board. We urge the minister to take up the issue of prisoners still being held in custody indefinitely despite the power to pass such sentences being removed ten years ago.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
There should be increased services and level of provision for prisoners who have severe mental health, psychological or social needs, many of whom are held in segregation for their own safety; this would free up prison resources to work with other prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
This remains an area of high concern.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
There should be capital investment to end the practice of men cell sharing, with an open toilet in the space where they are expected to sleep, eat and live; this would reduce friction between prisoners and increase prisoner respect and engagement with the regime. This is an inhumane practice.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Ministers should use their influence to reduce the number of remanded prisoners, and the length of time for cases to be heard in courts.
Ministry of Justice
Regime
Response
This remains a concern.
Recommendation 5
The Prison Service should recognise the gap between rhetoric and reality in respect of their national aspirations for resettlement and reducing reoffending. However good the education, vocational training and employment support in prison, homelessness, poverty and the current economic situation makes many of the stated aspirations totally unrealistic. This is exacerbated by the high number of remand prisoners in local prisons like Hewell. Ministers should support the Prison and Probation services by setting and achieving relevant and necessary targets for services that provide homes, access to employment and skills training after prison.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
While the Prison Service cannot replace all prison buildings that are unfit for purpose, it should allocate increased funding for improvements, particularly in respect of men who have a disability, accessibility or social care need.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
The Board has observed some work making the prison more accessible (e.g. the creation of ramps), however, there are still insufficient lifts and prisoners in wheelchairs are still unable to get through the doorway of their cells.
Recommendation 7
The Prison Service, working with the Probation Service, should place more emphasis on therapeutic interventions to address longstanding trauma, neurodiversity and social/psychological problems of prisoners. Too many come into the prison and leave without any intervention; this mitigates against successful resettlement and reduction in reoffending. It is not enough to pin change on the introduction of key work delivered by officers with minimal training in this skilled area.
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 8
Linked to the comments above, the Prison Service should lobby for sufficient resources to staff prisons appropriately and ensure that staff conditions of service attract and retain the right people to prison roles.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 9
Healthcare contracts should be reviewed to ensure that there is safe out-of-hours cover; this will improve the health, safety and wellbeing of prisoners, reduce the number of staff hours needed to escort men to outside provision, and reduce the pressure on already overstretched ambulance and NHS resources.
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare
Recommendation 10
Maintain the integrity of the Oak unit, build on its success and continue to support and enhance its development; reduce the use of this unit for men who do not meet the criteria but are housed there due to lack of other accommodation.
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Increase momentum on culture change to ensure staff are curious, proactive and engaged and do not accept the unacceptable; identify and decisively address people or process issues that are blocking change. Pathway planning and key work is core to the change and should be given priority in all but the direst of staffing situations.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Response
The Board has observed improvements in some areas and some staff, but the culture change has not been fully achieved.
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Continue to seek investment/funding opportunities to improve the physical building, in particular facilities for prisoners who have disabilities and accessibility needs.
Governor / Director
Estate
Response
The Board has observed some work making the prison more accessible (e.g. the creation of ramps), however, there are still insufficient lifts and prisoners in wheelchairs are still unable to get through the doorway of their cells.
Recommendation 13
Implement the findings of the security audit to improve the safety of the prison to reduce the potential for illicit items and the impact of this on prisoner behaviour and the effective running of the regime.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 14
Take steps to ensure that the focus on maintaining and fostering family links becomes embedded across all aspects of the prison.
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Recommendation 15
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Remove the seeming paralysis around embedding a focus on equality issues within the prison.
Governor / Director
Equality
Response
While there has been improved monitoring of equalities, and evidence of activity to raise staff awareness, it is not yet fully embodied in attitude, behaviour or practice.
Other IMB Reports for Hewell
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.