Prison
Cat YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Wetherby
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 2 February 2023
HMYOI Wetherby faced significant challenges during the reporting year, including persistent staffing shortages which severely impacted the regime, leading to limited time out of cell, particularly in evenings. The Board noted concerning levels of violence, self-harm, and the continued problem of weapon creation. Additionally, there were unacceptable delays in transferring young people with complex mental health needs and significant evidence of racism. Despite these challenges, the Board commended positive staff-young person relationships, good physical healthcare provision, and welcome investments in the estate and engaging educational programs.
Positive Findings
HMYOI Wetherby maintains positive staff-young person relationships and provides good physical healthcare, commended by CQC. There's welcome investment in the estate, including in-cell showers and technology. Education offers successful practical courses, and notable initiatives support young people's activities and family contact, such as the Three Peaks Challenge and in-cell telephones. Reception management is efficient, and ACCT processes provide good support to young people.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The continued chronic lack of secure mental health hospital beds resulting in lengthy delays for young people who require such provision.
Safety
Repeated
Violence reduction, both in the community and within the juvenile estate.
Staffing
Recruitment and retention of all staff is difficult, with many frustrated by misleading job descriptions and high turnover.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Time out of room has not significantly improved throughout the reporting year, remaining disappointingly limited, particularly in the evenings and at weekends.
Safety
Repeated
The number, the severity, consistency and intensity of acts of self-harm, particularly on Keppel unit, remain of huge concern.
Safety
Repeated
There has been no solution to the creation of weapons from anything to hand, and their use in assaults, sometimes causing serious injury, since last year’s report.
Substance Misuse
Significant increase in positive mandatory drug tests this year, despite substance misuse not being prevalent in previous years.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Delay in arranging and signing off on a new contract with the educational provider (Novus), contributing to low staff morale and high turnover of teaching personnel.
Equality/Diversity
Significant evidence of racism in Wetherby, with 32% of young people reporting racist abuse and 71% unhappy with complaint outcomes.
Healthcare
Unacceptable delays in routine dental appointments, at times up to 24 weeks.
Other
Lengthy delays in young people obtaining their property from reception due to the need for external X-ray screening and staff shortages.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Access to education whilst in segregation is not sufficient or appropriate, with a single dedicated teacher regardless of numbers.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Recruitment and retention for all staff, especially youth justice workers, healthcare professionals, and teachers, remain significant challenges. Low staffing levels impact regime delivery, safety, and consistency, contributing to inconsistency and inexperience, despite some positive recruitment efforts for resettlement practitioners. Senior management turnover also affects stability, and concerns exist about misleading job descriptions and the loss of skilled officers due to new training requirements.
Healthcare
Wetherby provides good physical healthcare, including GP services and a successful virtual ward, and was commended by the CQC for medication management. However, there are significant delays in dental appointments (up to 24 weeks) and transferring young people with complex mental health needs to secure beds. Mental health services (CAMHS) support about 50% of the population, employing a trauma-informed approach, but face staffing shortages due to recruitment and retention difficulties.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime at Wetherby is significantly limited, particularly evenings and weekends, with many young people locked behind doors from 5 pm to 8 am due to low staffing. While efforts are made to return to whole-unit unlocking, some remain in small groups, impacting their regime and increasing violence risk. Delays in the education contract and staff shortages further contribute to a poorer regime, resulting in 741 lost education hours and limited time out of cell, especially on induction, Exmouth, and Frobisher wings.
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 | |
| Adjudication | 7 | 2 | |
| Healthcare | 4 | 1 | |
| Other | 19 | 12 | |
| Property | 39 | 24 | |
| Resolved on wing | 40 | 33 | |
| Security | 4 | 3 | |
| Staff care / conduct | 6 | 2 | |
| Total | 164 | 115 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 3
Recommendation 1
The Board would like to know what the long-term plans are for young female prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Equality
Recommendation 1
Recruitment and retention of officers is a serious problem. What are the short- and long-term plans to address this?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 1
What is being done to tackle the level of violent behaviour perpetrated by young people at Wetherby?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 2
Can the Minister reassure the Board, and the wider society, that serious and violent crime remains a priority for the Government and other agencies? How will the outcomes of any initiatives be reviewed?
Ministry of Justice
Safety
Recommendation 2
What, if anything, is being done to reverse this practice? (young people placed >50 miles from home)
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
There has been much talk of Wetherby having its own X-ray machine. Is that likely to happen, and if so, when?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 3
Why are assaults on prison staff not dealt with on a par with emergency service workers?
Ministry of Justice
Safety
Recommendation 3
How do you plan to reintroduce them? (custody support plan sessions)
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 4
Who made this decision and why? (regarding EHCPs ending on entry to custody)
Ministry of Justice
Education