Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
The Mount
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 16 June 2022
HMP The Mount experienced a second year of restricted Covid regimes (March 2021 – February 2022), leading to prisoners often being locked down for 23 hours a day, significantly impacting their mental and physical health. Despite challenges, the prison's management effectively controlled Covid outbreaks, and the new healthcare provider delivered a satisfactory service. Key concerns include insufficient Category D places, high staff turnover and low key worker engagement, inadequate estate maintenance, and persistent issues with property transfers and dentistry access.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomed the Governor and staff's effective management of Covid outbreaks, leading to reduced violence. Positive developments included improved family contact via technology (Purple Visits, in-cell telephones, email-a-prisoner), enhanced cleanliness, and estate improvements (hot water/heating overhaul, adapted kitchens, murals in induction rooms). The new airport-style search system significantly reduced illicit items, especially drugs. The appointment of a new Diversity & Inclusion manager and chaplaincy leader led to strengthened support and resumed congregational services. Healthcare services, provided by Practice Plus Group, were deemed satisfactory with weekend cover, and initiatives like PAT therapy dogs and Saracens' life skills courses were greatly appreciated.
Key Concerns
Resettlement/Release
Lack of Category D places for approved prisoners, leading to releases before placement.
Staffing
Ineffective appraisal of new recruits' suitability, leading to high turnover and wasted resources, compounded by a lack of experienced officer mentoring.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Poor condition of remaining showers and outdated heating/hot water boilers requiring significant refurbishment and replacement.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Insufficient investment in education programmes and workshops for meaningful employment and qualifications.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Persistent problems with property transfers, leading to lost or delayed items and expensive claims.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Challenge of managing prisoner movement in a 'small groups' regime to ensure adequate access to work, education, library, gyms, and sufficient time out of cell.
Mental Health
The Segregation Unit (CSU) is unsuitable for prisoners with serious mental health issues, who are often placed there while awaiting transfer to appropriate facilities.
Staffing
Consistently low levels of key worker interactions (50-60%), undermining safety and the development of positive staff-prisoner relationships.
Healthcare
Challenging access to dentistry due to Covid restrictions and insufficient commissioned sessions leading to a backlog.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
The absence of a dedicated wellbeing wing hinders effective drug rehabilitation efforts for prisoners.
Resettlement/Release
A new backlog of OASys reports for prisoners arriving from category B local prisons, which delays sentence planning and rehabilitation.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels were a major concern, leading to denial of prisoner access to gym, library, and limited showers/association. A national recruitment campaign brought new starters, but many left quickly, indicating a need for better suitability appraisal. The loss of experienced officers also reduced mentoring opportunities for new recruits. Key worker interactions remained low (50-60%), with many prisoners lacking recorded case notes.
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group provides satisfactory healthcare, with weekend cover and in-cell telephones enabling prisoner contact. Face-to-face consultations are resuming with eased Covid restrictions, and access to general healthcare has improved. However, Covid vaccination uptake has not been high, and dentistry access remains challenging due to restrictions and insufficient commissioned sessions, leading to a patient backlog. The mental health team provides a 7-day service, addressing urgent referrals face-to-face and welfare checks by phone.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison endured a second year of restricted Covid regimes, fluctuating between lockdown and limited easing, with prisoners often locked down for 23 hours a day. This significantly limited time out of cell (often only one hour daily) for exercise, domestics, and association, causing damage to mental and physical health. Workshops, education, and the library were closed for most of the year, and the gym was frequently unavailable due to staff shortages and Covid restrictions, severely impacting purposeful activity.
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 | |
| Discrimination | 5 | 8 | |
| Education | 3 | 5 | |
| Equality & Diversity | 0 | 0 | |
| Family & significant others | 2 | 2 | — |
| Food | 7 | 8 | |
| Healthcare | 19 | 16 | |
| Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) | 6 | 3 | |
| Lawyers | 1 | 1 | — |
| Mental Health | 5 | 5 | — |
| Other | 73 | 63 | |
| Programmes (including offending behaviour) | 1 | 0 | |
| Property | 179 | 193 | |
| Resettlement | 10 | 12 | |
| Respect | 1 | 0 | |
| Safety | 7 | 5 | |
| Segregation & CSU | 8 | 4 | |
| Sentence progression | 30 | 25 | |
| Staff issues | 7 | 10 | |
| Substance misuse | 1 | 2 | |
| TOTAL | 410 | 408 | |
| Work/Activities | 5 | 8 |
Recommendations (6)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 1
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
The Board is concerned at the lack of category D places. Prisoners are being assessed and approved but then face months waiting for a place. Some are released before being allocated a category D placement. Increasing the period that a prisoner can apply from two to three years with no extra places will increase the frustration of prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
On staffing levels and new recruits, the Prison Service needs to better appraise applicants as to their suitability for the role. A lot of effort and money is wasted when trainees leave because they cannot cope with the environment. Numbers recruited should not be the only measure. The number that finish their training who are still employed 12 months later is the most important measure. The loss of experienced officers that the service has experienced over the years means that there are fewer opportunities for mentoring when new recruits are in role.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Some investment has been made to improve the showers but the remaining showers need refurbishing to bring them to an acceptable standard. The heating and hot water boilers need replacing with modern energy efficiency to provide better living conditions.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 4
Education programmes need more investment so that more prisoners can access them, together with more investment in the workshops with meaningful employment that can lead to qualifications to improve employment opportunities on release.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 5
Repeated
There continue to be many problems with the transfer of property during prison-to-prison transfers. There is insufficient room in the transfer vehicles for all prisoners’ property and arrangements for any that is left behind is patchy. Frequently prisoners’ property gets lost completely leading to expensive and avoidable claims on the Prison Service. This matter needs to be dealt with.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
Given the management of smaller groups of prisoners and not returning to pre-pandemic ‘free flow’ regime, the challenge will be to manage movement of prisoners so that prisoners are able to attend work and education every day, to make use of the library and gyms regularly and to have sufficient time out of cell. We have raised concerns that identifying set wings to house prisoners engaging in education or having a workshop place will limit prisoners’ opportunities and necessitate prisoners moving wings to access new opportunities.
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for The Mount
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
11 Nov 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 3
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.