Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Lancaster Farms
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 14 June 2022
HMP Lancaster Farms, a Category C resettlement prison, successfully managed Covid-19 risks and saw reductions in violence and self-harm during the reporting year. However, the Board remains concerned by prolonged periods of in-cell confinement, limited purposeful activity, and significant challenges in mental healthcare provision exacerbated by staffing shortages and difficulties in specialist transfers. Persistent issues include property transfer problems, inadequate toilet screening in double cells, and inconsistent communication with prisoners.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the Governor and staff for largely providing a safe and humane environment, effectively managing Covid-19 risks, and improving safety metrics like violence and self-harm incidents. The introduction of in-cell telephony was widely welcomed, and there is good practice in safer custody interventions and support for vulnerable prisoners. Healthcare provision is generally good, with positive work on hepatitis C elimination and proactive vaccine promotion. Relationships between staff and prisoners, including key workers and gym instructors, are noted as positive. The drug rehabilitation units are seen as supportive environments.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
High levels of self-harm continue among a small number of prisoners with complex mental health needs, who often remain at the establishment due to a lack of specialist facilities.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Enforced confinement in cells for over 20 hours per day, a consequence of the pandemic regime and staffing shortages, is inconsistent with humane treatment and negatively impacts prisoners' mental health and access to purposeful activity.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The estate has ongoing maintenance issues including poor ventilation, drainage, and lack of decency in double cells (missing toilet screens/seats).
Mental Health
Repeated
The provision of mental healthcare services is hindered by staffing shortages and the cessation of group therapies, while transfers to specialist mental health facilities remain difficult and slow.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Ineffective communication with prisoners, particularly regarding complaints, programme availability, and recategorisation decisions, causes frustration.
Other
Repeated
Frequent loss and delays in transferring prisoners' property, particularly between establishments, causes significant stress and absorbs scarce resources.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Educational, vocational, and offending behaviour programs have been severely reduced due to pandemic restrictions and staffing issues, impeding resettlement and progression.
Safety
Repeated
The Board is not consistently informed about critical incidents, such as PAVA deployment, deaths in custody, or special cell use, despite agreed processes.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Food hygiene logs are not consistently completed, and food temperatures are not routinely logged.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff shortages impacted out-of-cell activities and mental health services. While audits showed resilience in staff adapting to pandemic challenges, the Board notes problems with experienced staff leaving and high turnover of new recruits. Key worker schemes show significant activity but require further development in quality and consistency. Staffing shortages also led to withdrawal of some gym sessions. Recommendations include funding for effective staffing levels and a wide-ranging review of prison staffing.
Healthcare
Primary healthcare provision has been reasonable despite pandemic challenges, with a successful hepatitis C elimination program. However, mental healthcare faces significant challenges, including staffing shortages (2.6 FTE vacancies), cessation of group therapies, and difficulties transferring prisoners with severe mental health issues to specialist facilities. GP waiting times are typically 2-3 weeks, and dental waits are around 18 weeks, with some delays in acute dental pain treatment. The prison lacks 24-hour healthcare and relies on other establishments for intensive care.
Regime & Daily Life
The pandemic emergency regime significantly reduced time out of cell, with prisoners confined for over 20 hours daily for extended periods, impacting humane treatment and mental health. This also curtailed purposeful activities, in-cell employment, and family contact. While this contributed to a reduction in violence, it is considered regrettable. Workplaces, education, and offending behaviour programs operated at reduced capacity, hindering prisoner progression and resettlement. There were efforts to maintain outdoor exercise and gym access, though staff shortages led to some gym session withdrawals.
Recommendations (19)
Other: 5
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 10
12 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To further improve the strategies available to the prison to manage and reduce the number of incidents of self-harm, particularly among the small number of prisoners who frequently self-harm and could be assessed as demonstrating severe mental health difficulties.
Other
(minister)
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Given concerns expressed above to invite Department of Health colleagues to work with the Minister to review the capacity associated with the provision of mental health services across the prison estate for those prisoners with severe and enduring mental illness.
Other
(minister)
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
To reduce the number of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP).
Other
(minister)
Other
Recommendation 4
To fund the Prison Service for the growth and maintenance of effective staffing levels.
Other
(minister)
Staffing
Recommendation 5
To provide ‘surge funding’ for learning/skills provision and programme provision to remedy shortcomings in the preparation for resettlement and sentence planning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other
(minister)
Education
Recommendation 6
To conduct a wide-ranging review of prison staffing, to address the loss of experienced staff and of a large percentage of new staff that leave within 12 months of recruitment.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As Covid restrictions are removed, to ensure more focus on purposeful activities including programmes to support sentence planning, and full-time education and training and ‘job readiness’.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To reduce losses of property as it transfers across the Prison Service.
HMPPS
Property
Recommendation 9
To address shortcomings in the contracts for resettlement activity, canteen provision and education/training.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To support growth in the amount of purposeful activity, including education, training, work and association.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 11
As Covid restrictions are removed, to enable prisoners to eat outside their cells.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ensure that any work in regard to toilets in double cells is addressed: broken screens, lack of toilet seats, etc.
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 13
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To review and progress improvements and repairs to ventilation in residential areas and drainage outside residential areas, including exercise areas.
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 14
To improve the use of body-worn cameras by prison staff.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 15
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To improve communication with prisoners in key areas such as the progress towards resolving or responding to complaints, availability of programmes and the reasons for recategorisation.
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 16
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To complete the Listener programme (started in November 2021 but halted by the pandemic) and ensure that there is a rolling programme of training for future Listeners (given the turnover of prisoners in a category C resettlement prison).
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 17
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ensure that processes previously agreed with the Board, such as that the Board will be notified immediately following the deployment of PAVA, deaths in custody and/or the use of the special cell, are implemented. In addition, to ensure that the appointment to the vacant position of Board clerk is prioritised, with a clear remit for that person to support better communication between the prison and the Board.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 18
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ensure that contact between prisoners and their key workers becomes more effective.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 19
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To take further steps to ensure that food hygiene logs are completed for each wing at each meal, and that food temperatures are routinely logged.
Governor / Director
Food
Other IMB Reports for Lancaster Farms
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.