Prison
Cat B male training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Isle of Wight
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 18 October 2022
HMP Isle of Wight operated under a continued restricted regime in 2021 due to Covid-19, impacting daily life and increasing tensions. While the Board praised staff efforts and noted positive developments in healthcare, equality, and complaint handling, significant concerns persisted regarding the dilapidated laundry, unhygienic meal services, and underfunded estate repairs. Staffing shortfalls in mental health and probation services critically hampered prisoner support and progression, alongside challenges posed by the delayed transfer of Category C prisoners.
Positive Findings
The IMB highlighted the positive approach of prisoners and tirelessly working staff during difficult periods. Significant actions were taken to support prisoners during confinement, including distraction packs and excellent communication. Healthcare provision was excellent, with positive feedback from prisoners and strong links developed with the primary care trust. The prison successfully made cell searches representative of the population and reintroduced key worker sessions. Improvements to Albany house units, including CCTV installation, were welcomed. The professionalism of SARU staff and their focus on positive working practices were commended. New initiatives like pronoun badges for staff and prisoners were well-received. The complaints department maintained high timeliness, completing 95.8% of 2,236 complaints on time. Communication between healthcare and families was excellent, and the collaborative approach to drug misuse was effective. Education innovation continued with bespoke learning packages, and a £2 bonus for English/Maths course completion was introduced. An IAG advisor helps prisoners identify education pathways, and the development of digital learning plans for tracking progress is underway.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The laundry at HMP Isle of Wight urgently requires significant upgrading to make it fit for purpose.
Resettlement/Release
The transfer of category C prisoners to HMP Isle of Wight must be carefully managed, with consideration given to the length of sentence remaining and the increased distance from home that most prisoners will experience.
Education/Purposeful Activity
All prisoners should have the opportunity to participate in education whilst in the establishment. The resumption of face-to-face learning is a key part of this, but also the provision of initial assessments, personal learning plans and provision of the full range of courses provided before the pandemic.
Estate/Conditions
Ongoing faults with the fire alarm system affecting several areas of the Parkhurst site were regularly reported.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
A bid to replace the roof of house unit 18 at Parkhurst was submitted in January 2018 but was rejected. Another bid was submitted in August 2020, as the slate roof is end of life, but no funding was secured for this work to be completed so far.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
In Albany, the roof in the tailors workshop and the chapel had remedial works carried out in November 2020, but the roofs still suffered from leaks. A bid was submitted in August 2020 to carry out major repairs but this has so far not been funded.
Food/Catering
Observations and reports of meal services during 2021 continued to show concerns that were not fully addressed by the prison. The Board witnessed specific concerns around the servery including: Servery workers do not all have food safety and hygiene training or certification. Food temperatures are not taken and recorded accurately. Unhygienic practices in the handling of food are frequently evident. The correct wearing of hair coverings and beard nets is not always followed.
Equality/Diversity
2021 was another challenging year for equalities with protected characteristic forums not commencing until May and then being spasmodic. This was due to Covid and the inability to mix cohorts. Similarly, there were a reduced number of inclusion events, which are forums for staff and prisoners to discuss various equality and diversity topics.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
It was difficult to get use of force reports for BAME prisoners audited by BAME staff, due to lack of BAME discipline staff.
Mental Health
The mental health department was without a head of department from September and the department was understaffed; recruitment is an issue. This had a detrimental effect on the ability to provide full and timely service provision.
Healthcare
Safeguarding was identified as an area that needed to be developed. Healthcare was seeking support from outside agencies to improve provision.
Staffing
Probation officer staffing levels were at 46% of the required number and were likely to fall further in the next six months. As a result, many prisoners did not receive crucial one-to one-interventions from their POM and making little progress with their sentence plan.
Resettlement/Release
At the end of 2021 there were around 400 category C prisoners, many of whom should have transferred to a category C resettlement establishment to prepare for possible release and undertake work in readiness for their release. Some prisoners had little prospect of a transfer to another establishment and understandably felt upset and angry that they could not move.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP Isle of Wight experienced significant staffing challenges in 2021 due to continuous restricted regimes, staffing shortfalls, and the personal impact of Covid. The prison acknowledged staff efforts through a ‘Hidden Heroes’ programme. Key worker sessions, which had been suspended, were re-established to provide support and contact for prisoners. The mental health department was understaffed and without a head from September, negatively affecting service provision. Probation officer staffing levels were critically low at 46% of the required number, impeding crucial one-to-one interventions and sentence plan progression for many prisoners.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision in 2021 was deemed excellent, with Practice Plus Group offering a GP-led service including two primary care units and an 18-bed inpatient unit. Specialist services included mental health, physiotherapy, and DART, with sub-contracted dentistry, opticianry, and audiology. Seriously ill and end-of-life prisoners received good care, and communication between healthcare and families was excellent. While the GP reviewed new arrivals within 72 hours, the mental health department faced significant understaffing and recruitment issues, hindering timely service. Safeguarding in healthcare was identified as an area needing development, with external agency support being sought. Telemedicine is planned for introduction to further improve service access.
Regime & Daily Life
The year was dominated by a restricted regime due to Covid-19. January 2021 saw a national lockdown, confining prisoners to cells for 22-23 hours daily. Restrictions eased by April to a Stage 3 regime, allowing more time out of cells and activities. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant in November led to a reversion to a Stage 2 regime, which was still in place at year-end. This restricted regime significantly impacted purposeful activity, with limited numbers allowed in workshops and the library being inaccessible for most of the year. The report links the increase in self-harm and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults to the easing of the strict lockdown and the associated rise in anxieties and peer pressure.
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 | 10 | 16 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 7 | 14 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 2 | 27 | |
| Equality | 13 | 8 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 10 | 20 | |
| Food and kitchens | 4 | 4 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 44 | 38 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 12 | 28 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 51 | 57 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 14 | 17 | |
| Property within this establishment | 27 | 13 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 13 | 11 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 21 | 20 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 57 | 53 | |
| Transfers | 10 | 10 | — |
Recommendations (10)
Governor / Director: 8
HMPPS: 2
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
All prisoners without an initial assessment are approached again, encouraged to take these assessments and to engage with courses. Any refusal is well documented with date/reasons why etc.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 2
All prisoners are offered rapid LDD screening, irrespective of whether they have a self-declared LDD, and all those requiring follow up have in-depth LDD screening.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 3
Increase the number of prisoners with LDDs receiving support from the education department with their functional skills and restart the work of the Shannon Trust as soon as possible to assist prisoners with poor literacy skills.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 4
Ensure that all prisoners in IOW have a digital personal learning plan on Curious which is reassessed regularly to ensure that all are given the opportunities to progress.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 5
Increase the number of remand prisoners supported on courses or with CV writing.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 6
Return to full classroom teaching as soon as regime restrictions allow.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 7
Investigate the potential development of blended learning, with a combination of in-cell work, tutorial support and classroom provision, which could therefore free up classroom space to clear any waiting lists, allowing more prisoners to benefit from education.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 8
Repeated
The laundry at HMP Isle of Wight urgently requires significant upgrading to make it fit for purpose. Whilst the funding for these works has now been approved, these works need to be carried out as a matter of urgency.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 9
The transfer of category C prisoners to HMP Isle of Wight must be carefully managed, with consideration given to the length of sentence remaining and the increased distance from home that most prisoners will experience.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 10
All prisoners should have the opportunity to participate in education whilst in the establishment. The resumption of face-to-face learning is a key part of this, but also the provision of initial assessments, personal learning plans and provision of the full range of courses provided before the pandemic.
Governor / Director
Education
Other IMB Reports for Isle of Wight
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.