Prison
Cat B local and reception/resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Peterborough (Men)
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 28 September 2022
HMP Peterborough operated under significant Covid-19 restrictions, impacting regime and staffing, yet saw a welcome continued decrease in violence and self-harm incidents. Concerns persist regarding the adequacy of healthcare services, resettlement provision post-CRC transition, and the length of time some remand prisoners are held. The prison demonstrated strengths in staff commitment, SEN provision, and resettlement accommodation outcomes, while acknowledging ongoing challenges in staff retention and property management.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the outstanding effort and commitment of all prison staff, who successfully recruited and trained new staff despite challenges. The prison effectively communicated regime changes, fostering acceptance among prisoners, and healthcare staff increased activity amidst significant service changes. The appointment of a SENCo has greatly improved staff awareness and interventions in education. The Board also welcomes the continued downward trend in violence and use of force, alongside improvements in accommodation and the achievement of accommodation targets on release.
Key Concerns
Other
The Board is concerned at the length of time some remand prisoners are held.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned that the handover from community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) to the National Probation Service (NPS) left gaps in provision of resettlement services, and that NPS will be restricting their activities further.
Healthcare
Because of the widespread perception among prisoners that all Healthcare services (Clinical, Mental, and substance misuse) are not up to the standard expected.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison has struggled to process and deliver property and mail, leading to an increase in both complaints and applications to the IMB, partly due to staff shortages.
Mental Health
Primary and secondary mental health teams have access to one male clinic room which limits capacity, and there are no group rooms allocated to the services, making it difficult to run regular group sessions. Additionally, a shortage of mental health hospital beds put additional pressure on SMHT staff.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Some men remain unaware of the key worker system, and some are dismissive of it, with the Board not observing much evidence of improved outcomes for prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP Peterborough faced significant challenges in staff recruitment, training, and retention due to the opening of a new prison nearby and high levels of staff absence, particularly at weekends. While mostly successful in recruiting, these shortages occasionally led to restricted regimes and impacted services like facilities management and property delivery. Despite pressures, positive staff-prisoner relationships were observed, though many newer staff are unfamiliar with normal regimes.
Healthcare
The Board is concerned that clinical, mental health, and drug services are not providing an adequate service, negatively impacting safety, with many prisoner applications relating to these issues. Healthcare staff have worked hard amidst significant changes in pharmacy, mental health team leadership, and new mental health providers. While activity levels increased, many prisoners reported dissatisfaction, and issues arose with weekend mental health cover and co-location of teams due to privacy concerns and lack of space. The PMHT and SMHT also face challenges with suitable clinic and group rooms.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison operated under HMPPS Gold Command Covid regime for the reporting year, largely at Stage 3 or 3+, resulting in prisoners being locked in cells for up to 22.5 hours a day for much of the period. Time out of cell was severely affected, sometimes limited to 90 minutes daily. While the gym reopened by year-end, purposeful activity was significantly reduced. The prison effectively managed inter-gang violence and generally maintained a calm, well-ordered environment, despite challenges with vulnerable prisoners and a lack of suitable activity for them.
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 | 23 | 13 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 5 | 2 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 11 | 1 | |
| Equality | 8 | 7 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 29 | 10 | |
| Food and kitchens | 10 | 6 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 94 | 62 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 45 | 10 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 4 | 2 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 22 | 12 | |
| Property within this establishment | 63 | 50 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 25 | 8 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 48 | 29 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 79 | 54 | |
| Transfers | 18 | 4 |
Recommendations (2)
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 1
Recommendation 1
The Board would expect to see the full range of resettlement support provided.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Because of the widespread perception among prisoners that all Healthcare services (Clinical, Mental, and substance misuse) are not up to the standard expected, going forward the prison should prioritise the review and monitoring of Complaints to Healthcare e.g. in the Monthly Clinical Governance Meeting, to ensure that standards are maintained and improved.
Governor / Director
Healthcare