Prison
Cat B local training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Cardiff
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 4 March 2022
HMP Cardiff maintained a reasonably safe and humane environment during the reporting year despite significant Covid-19 challenges. Self-harm and use of force incidents reduced, and healthcare staffing improved, but a restrictive regime impacted prisoner wellbeing and purposeful activity. Key concerns include a lack of mental health transfer beds, inadequate accommodation on release, and ongoing issues with prison infrastructure and perceived discrimination against BAME prisoners.
Positive Findings
The IMB applauds the management and staff for providing a reasonably safe and humane environment, with reductions in use of force and self-harm incidents. There have been improvements in staffing for both physical and mental healthcare, leading to expanded services and positive feedback from patients regarding compassionate treatment. The prison also piloted a new bail information scheme and saw an increase in key worker engagement towards the end of the year. Purple (video) Visits were popular and proved effective for family contact during restrictions.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
An increase in men requiring transfer to mental health establishments.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Men held in custody on IS91s and their lack of access to Home Office representatives.
Healthcare
Repeated
Ongoing issue with lack of cover for pharmacists.
Healthcare
Need for increased GP hours.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Lack of available and suitable accommodation for men leaving prison.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Annual issues with heating, problems with accessing TV channels, and rats affecting infrastructure in older wings.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Access for wheelchair users and those with mobility problems to some areas of the prison.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The need for a return to a normal regime as soon as practicable.
Safety
Body worn cameras being affected by the need to service and replace cameras.
Staffing
Staffing pressures within the business hub affecting the complaints procedure.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
The disproportionate number of BAME prisoners labelled as dangerous.
Equality/Diversity
A perception amongst BAME prisoners that they are being discriminated against in the allocation of work and education.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff worked under considerable pressure due to the pandemic, with a significant number isolating or off with Covid-19, which affected wing staff's ability to provide support. Staffing issues within the business hub also impacted the complaints procedure due to a lack of resilience. Key worker engagement was initially reduced but rose to 87% by year-end. A part-time diversity and equality officer role was restored to full-time on a job share basis.
Healthcare
Healthcare saw significant staffing improvements, with nurses fully staffed and a new temporary clinical director appointed who dedicates more time to HMP Cardiff. However, pharmacy services continue to struggle with cover, and more GP hours are needed. Optician and dentistry services were severely curtailed during lockdown, with long waiting times (91 days for opticians) persisting, while non-urgent GP waits were 23 days. Mental health staffing greatly improved, allowing expanded services and better access, despite a significant increase in mental health transfers (32 this year, up from 19), with some lengthy waits.
Regime & Daily Life
The restricted regime during the pandemic adversely affected staff-prisoner relationships, with many men reporting difficulties coping and feeling less supported by staff. Time out of cell was initially 45 minutes twice a day, increasing to one hour twice a day in July 2021. Education and vocational training opportunities were severely curtailed and provided at reduced levels, though essential services and some workshops continued. The availability of the gym varied, only fully reopening for restricted numbers in March 2021.
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 | 36 | 26 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 23 | 20 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 10 | 6 | |
| Equality | 6 | 4 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 21 | 17 | |
| Food and kitchens | 8 | 5 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 83 | 98 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 43 | 34 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 44 | 112 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 14 | 17 | |
| Property within this establishment | 26 | 8 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 38 | 27 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 26 | 42 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 65 | 61 | |
| Transfers | 22 | 28 |
Recommendations (11)
Ministry of Justice: 1
Home Office: 1
NHS / Healthcare Provider: 2
Other: 1
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 2
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
The Board is concerned about the increase, this year, in men requiring transfer to mental health establishments (para 6.2.4). We have noted the recommendations of the House of Commons Justice Committee report Mental health in prisons of September 2021, particularly the recommendation that ‘The MoJ and the NHS should accelerate plans to increase the availability of Community Sentence Treatment Requirement orders, so these orders are available options for sentencers in all parts of England and Wales by 31 March 2023.’ Although we realise that this recommendation relates to England, we would ask whether any discussions are taking place with the Welsh Government to implement this recommendation.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board continues to have concerns about men being held in custody on IS91s and their access to Home Office representatives. This issue has been raised in the last two reports. In March and April 2021, one man who was held under an IS91 began to refuse food because he was held in custody past his release date. Whilst understanding the pressures on the immigration removal centres (IRCs), men held in prison do not have access to the same facilities as those in IRCs. The Board would ask that this issue is again raised with the Home Office.
Home Office
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board has two concerns in relation to healthcare which we would ask the Health Minister to consider with Cardiff and the Vale Health Board. Both relate to staffing: the first is the ongoing issue with lack of cover for pharmacists, which can lead to locum pharmacists being brought in on an emergency basis and affects the planning of the team in their attempts to improve the service. This difficulty was also noted last year (para 6.1.4).
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
The second has been raised by the temporary clinical director who has identified the need for increased GP hours to cover the health needs of the men.
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board was pleased to hear that support for men who are leaving prison without settled accommodation is being extended until April 2022. However, there appears to be a lack of available and suitable accommodation, particularly in certain areas, and we would be interested to see what steps the Welsh Government is able to take, jointly with local authorities, to address this problem (para 7.5.5).
Other
(other)
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Staff and men in HMP Cardiff have made efforts to keep the prison clean and of a good standard during the pandemic. The Board also acknowledges the work that has been done on refurbishing wings. However, some of the older wings have annual issues with heating, problems with accessing TV channels and the rats are having an effect on the infrastructure (paras 5.1.4, 5.15 & 5.3.5). Some of these problems (the heating and TV channels) have been occurring for several years and the prison in conjunction with Amey has tried to remedy the problems. The Board would ask the service to consider what long term remedies could be found.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Allied to the infrastructure is the concern the Board has in relation to access for wheelchair users and those with mobility problems to some areas of the prison (para 5.4.7) We are aware that refurbishment of one wing is making some adaptations to aid access, but difficulties still remain for men who may not be accommodated on that wing.
HMPPS
Equality
Recommendation 8
The Board is pleased that the regime in HMP Cardiff is easing and realises all relaxing of the regime is dependent on infection rates. However, from our monitoring of the prison we believe that men were finding life increasingly difficult under this regime (paras 6.2.3 & 7.2.5) and would hope that a return to normal regime could be considered as soon as practicable, in line with Covid-19 protocols.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 9
The Board is concerned that the use of body worn cameras (BWC) is being affected by the need to service and replace cameras. We understand that HMP Cardiff will have cameras replaced in February 2022: we hope that will not be delayed further (para 4.5.2).
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 10
We have been concerned by the staffing pressures the business hub appears to have been under, which in turn affects issues which directly affect the men. Therefore we would ask whether there is any way to ensure sufficient trained staff are available to cover shortfalls (para 5.7.1).
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Our concern noted in the last report in relation to the disproportionate number of BAME prisoners labelled as dangerous remains. In addition to this, the Board has noticed a perception amongst BAME prisoners that they are being discriminated against in the allocation of work and education and we would ask that further investigation of any apparent discrimination be considered (paras 5.4.3 & 5.4.4).
Governor / Director
Equality
Other IMB Reports for Cardiff
2022
Published 17 Jul 2025
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
29 Jan 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 3
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.