Prison
Cat B adult male and YOI establishment
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Nottingham
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 25 July 2022
HMP Nottingham operated under pandemic restrictions for most of the reporting year, gradually easing, with effective governance despite management flux. While self-harm incidents decreased, violence between prisoners increased significantly. Key concerns include the ongoing situation for IPP prisoners, the lack of separation for remand and convicted prisoners, and inadequate mental health facilities, alongside regime restrictions and low education attendance.
Positive Findings
The Board was impressed with the commitment to safety, the humane treatment ethos, and staff's willingness to listen. Management of pandemic restrictions was more refined than the previous year. Improvements include a new constant supervision policy, a sustained reduction in the use of force, and a decrease in prisoners transferred from Rampton Hospital. Resettlement staff made significant efforts to support prisoners, and family contact schemes like 'come dine with me' visits were highly praised.
Key Concerns
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Address the ongoing situation in relation to IPP prisoners who are many years beyond their minimum term.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The required separation of remand and convicted prisoners is so widely ignored throughout the prison estate that we suggest this is a matter requiring structural attention beyond the individual prison.
Safety
A rise in violence between prisoners (15.7%) during the reporting year, with 262 assaults compared to 207 the previous year.
Mental Health
Repeated
Allocation of in-patient mental health facilities to prisoners does not meet their needs, often resulting in individual prisoners spending very extended periods in a prison segregation unit.
Mental Health
Repeated
Concerns about timely access to more suitable locations/services for prisoners requiring mental health transfers, with some remaining in segregation for sustained periods.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The issues related to cells being too cold and too hot on which we reported last year are unresolved.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The familiar periodic shortages of essential clothing items re-emerged early in 2022.
Healthcare
Despite all the prison and healthcare teams’ efforts, vaccination rates (Covid and flu) were relatively low.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Low education attendance, with only 51% of available places attended at one point.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Prisoners’ access to a key worker was limited and some prisoners told us they had never seen one.
Resettlement/Release
Foreign nationals awaiting deportation had no idea what was going to happen to them and found it impossible to make meaningful contact with immigration/Home Office staff.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison experienced management flux throughout the year, with the Head of Residence and then the new Deputy Governor acting up as Governor. The IMB's own monitoring efforts were affected by low member numbers due to Covid roles and infections. Staff-prisoner relationships are generally good, but the key worker scheme continued to be adversely affected by the pandemic, with limited prisoner access.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision was impacted by the pandemic, leading to cancelled appointments and limited face-to-face access, although this improved as restrictions eased. In-cell phones were extensively used for consultations. Concerns remain regarding the allocation of in-patient mental health facilities and timely access to suitable mental health locations. Despite significant efforts, Covid and flu vaccination rates among prisoners remained relatively low.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners were often confined to cells for longer periods due to pandemic restrictions, though these were less onerous than the previous year. The future regime may retain elements of pandemic response, leading to less time off-wing and reduced mixing. Time out of cell remained intermittently restricted across wings due to Covid outbreaks, and gym access was less than pre-pandemic levels due to necessary cohorting.
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) | 54 | 48 | |
| Benefits | 0 | 0 | |
| Bullying and intimidation | 2 | 1 | |
| Complaints | 5 | 5 | — |
| Discipline (including adjudications) | 6 | 12 | |
| Discrimination | 3 | 0 | |
| Drugs | 0 | 0 | |
| Education | 2 | 1 | |
| Employment/work | 1 | 0 | |
| Healthcare | 18 | 20 | |
| IPP/Progression | 1 | 3 | |
| Legal | 2 | 1 | |
| Money/pensions | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 5 | 6 | |
| Property | 19 | 13 | |
| Race relations | 0 | 0 | |
| Regime | 1 | 1 | — |
| Relationships | 0 | 0 | |
| Remand | 0 | 0 | |
| Safeguarding | 0 | 0 | |
| Security | 2 | 0 | |
| Self-harm | 0 | 0 | |
| Staff (attitudes, behaviour, competence) | 14 | 11 | |
| Total | 136 | 123 | |
| Visits | 2 | 0 | |
| Welfare | 1 | 1 | — |
| Young adults | 0 | 0 |
Recommendations (3)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 1
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
We would again ask the minister to address the ongoing situation in relation to IPP prisoners who are many years beyond their minimum term (see paragraph 7.3).
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The required separation of remand and convicted prisoners is so widely ignored throughout the prison estate that we suggest this is a matter requiring structural attention beyond the individual prison (see section 2). It was disappointing to have a high-profile announcement that this was to change, only for that decision to be reversed.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 3
We hope that lessons learned during the lockdown period will be used to inform the organisation of the prison when the restrictions are lifted and that initiatives found to be beneficial can continue, so that the overall experience of prisoners is improved.
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Nottingham
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
13 May 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 2
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.