Prison
Cat Category C training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Risley
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 9 February 2023
HMP Risley demonstrated high standards in safety, humane treatment, and health and wellbeing during the reporting year ending March 2022. Key improvements included a decline in violence and self-harm incidents, effective staff-prisoner relationships, and successful implementation of an accelerator prison model for resettlement. However, the Board raised concerns regarding persistent property loss issues, the poor state of showers, mental health provision in segregation, and understaffing within the Offender Management Unit.
Positive Findings
The Board finds HMP Risley to be a safe establishment with good overall healthcare and fair treatment of prisoners, supported by strong staff-prisoner relationships. The prison has seen a steady decline in violence and self-harm incidents, with effective safer custody teams and use of force oversight. Positive developments include the introduction of in-cell telephony and the successful initiatives as an accelerator prison focused on employment and accommodation, leading to better outcomes for many prisoners. The chaplaincy provides excellent pastoral support, and education adapted to neurodiversity is commendable.
Key Concerns
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Discussions are being held with Home Office ministers in order to help improve the ongoing repatriation/deportation procedures for foreign nationals? This question was referred to the Minister in last year’s report.
Other
To resolve the continuing ongoing issues regarding the loss of prisoners’ property, in spite of the new property framework.
Other
The Board still has ongoing concerns about the efficient provision of prisoners’ property. What plans does the prison have regarding developing a more efficient, consistent, and streamlined approach to handling and allocating prisoners’ property, on arrival, departure and movement within the prison?
Estate/Conditions
In the Board’s opinion, showers across all wings continue to be in need of major refurbishment. What plans does the prison have regarding a resolution to this issue?
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board remains concerned about the issue regarding cell clearances. What actions are being taken to carry out cell clearances promptly when a prisoner moves location within the prison, to reduce the loss of property?
Mental Health
The Board remains concerned about the vulnerable prisoners with mental health issues held in the CSU. We believe that more appropriate accommodation should be provided for these individuals.
Equality/Diversity
not all areas in the prison are compliant with the Equality Act.
Estate/Conditions
The Board received a lot of concerns regarding the thinness of mattresses and this is still an ongoing concern.
Staffing
This creates a challenge for staff in the offender management unit (OMU). Their target is for all the outstanding OASys assessments to be completed within 10 weeks of arrival. This has proved to be impossible this year. In March 2022 there was a backlog of 87. Over 30 had been in the prison for longer than 10 weeks. Half of these were work in progress.
Resettlement/Release
The prison does not offer the Horizon programme for men convicted of sexual offences. As the profile of the prison changes, it is important that this is addressed quickly. Otherwise, if it is mentioned in their sentence plan, men will have to be moved to other prisons.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Offender Management Unit (OMU) is understaffed, with at least one probation officer vacancy and another on long-term sick leave, leading to a backlog of OASys assessments. Staff shortages also impacted the delivery of education and training courses for part of the year. The Board welcomes an increase in OMU staff to reflect the changing prison population profile.
Healthcare
Healthcare and wellbeing services are generally good, provided by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, including full-time doctors, nurses, dental, podiatry, physiotherapy, and a mental health team. While most waiting lists are within national timescales, there was a one to two weeks’ wait to see a GP due to COVID-19. The Board remains concerned about vulnerable prisoners with mental health issues held in the segregation unit, believing more appropriate accommodation is needed for them.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison demonstrated good adaptation to COVID-19 restrictions, with all prisoners offered daily exercise and outside equipment provided on yards. In-cell telephony was successfully rolled out, improving family contact, and face-to-face visits gradually resumed with improved facilities. Purposeful activity was maintained through a part-time work model, although education delivery was often based on "want rather than need" due to atypical circumstances.
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 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 1 | 2 | |
| Equality | 6 | 5 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 0 | 0 | |
| Food and kitchens | 7 | 3 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 32 | 29 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 20 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 29 | 14 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 54 | 34 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 10 | 3 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 27 | 25 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 21 | 16 | |
| Transfers | 12 | 4 |
Recommendations (5)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 3
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Can you advise what discussions are being held with Home Office ministers in order to help improve the ongoing repatriation/deportation procedures for foreign nationals?
Other
(minister)
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
To resolve the continuing ongoing issues regarding the loss of prisoners’ property, in spite of the new property framework. Does the Prison Service have any plans to introduce a streamlined system for handling prisoners’ property when being transferred between prisons to reduce distress to prisoners and minimise the number of compensation claims?
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 3
The Board still has ongoing concerns about the efficient provision of prisoners’ property. What plans does the prison have regarding developing a more efficient, consistent, and streamlined approach to handling and allocating prisoners’ property, on arrival, departure and movement within the prison?
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 4
In the Board’s opinion, showers across all wings continue to be in need of major refurbishment. What plans does the prison have regarding a resolution to this issue?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 5
The Board remains concerned about the issue regarding cell clearances. What actions are being taken to carry out cell clearances promptly when a prisoner moves location within the prison, to reduce the loss of property?
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Risley
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
12 Apr 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 2
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.