Prison
Cat C training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Whatton
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 25 October 2021
HMP Whatton operated under severe Covid-19 restrictions for most of the reporting year, with prisoners confined to cells for 22 hours daily and many activities suspended. Despite these challenges, the Board commended staff for their fair and humane approach, and prisoners largely understood the restrictions. Key concerns include the unsustainable restrictive regime, poor healthcare accommodation, delays in mental health transfers, and a backlog in offending behaviour programmes impacting resettlement.
Positive Findings
The Board commended the Governor, senior management team, and staff for their fair and humane handling of Covid-19 restrictions, prioritising prisoner welfare. The prison maintained a consistent regime with daily telephone calls and exercise, and prisoners showed understanding of the severe restrictions. The healthcare team provided an outstanding service, efficiently rolling out the Covid-19 vaccination program despite reduced staffing. The new ACCT process (Version 6) was clear and welcomed. Board members found staff-prisoner relationships generally fair and non-discriminatory, and the chaplaincy team provided improved pastoral support during the pandemic. Education courses meet prisoner needs and have an 'Excellent' Ofsted rating, supported by a well-resourced library. Offender management quality and the Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) project were also positive. Visitor facilities are well managed, and the extra £5 PIN credit for prisoners was appreciated.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
A prisoner was held for a long time in secure conditions with deteriorating mental health while waiting for secure hospital accommodation, with no improvements to the speedy resolution of such cases despite assurances.
Other
Repeated
The loss of prisoners’ property, usually when being transferred from another prison, continues to be a concern, with no reliable system of handling and tracking property developed by the Prison Service.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The standard of the accommodation in the healthcare centre continues to be a significant concern, with cramped space, mould, and damp creating difficulties for staff, and the unit being unfit for purpose.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Delays persist in the timely notification of approved premises for released prisoners, often occurring only days before release, which hinders their best chance of resettlement and rehabilitation.
Complaints/Property
The complaints procedure is not always timely, reliable, or credible, with some complaints not handled promptly and responses from other prisons often unsatisfactory or late, causing stress and frustration.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The substandard accommodation in the B wings, containing some of the smallest cells in the prison estate, remains unfit for purpose and continues to raise concerns, having been regularly criticised.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The national regime of lockdown, confining the majority of prisoners to their cells for 22 hours per day, is unsustainable and cannot be regarded as fair and humane treatment.
Resettlement/Release
The provision of accredited programmes has been curtailed or significantly reduced, and resettlement programmes suspended, meaning prisoners are not well prepared for their release.
Education/Purposeful Activity
There is a concerning backlog of prisoners waiting to complete accredited programmes, impacting their sentence plans, parole hearings, and subsequent release.
Resettlement/Release
There continue to be delays in transferring category D prisoners to suitable open conditions.
Resettlement/Release
A continuing issue exists with prisoners arriving without a current OASys report, delaying assessment and access to intervention programmes and leading to inappropriate sequencing for activities.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Communication to prisoners regarding the impact of programme suspensions on their sentence plan and parole hearings has been poor, causing uncertainty.
Resettlement/Release
Medium-risk prisoners being advised to contact local councils for emergency accommodation can result in housing that breaches licence conditions, which is regrettable, discriminatory, and unsupportive of rehabilitation.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Delays in telephone access to children are caused by external checks, which is especially frustrating for prisoners previously granted access at other prisons.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels have been stretched due to pandemic-related absences, including shielding and Covid-19 infections, impacting both administration and prisoner management. Healthcare services, despite providing an outstanding service, have been affected by reduced staffing and two mental health and one administrative vacancy. Eight staff were affected by Covid-19, with two experiencing long Covid, compounding staffing problems. The key worker scheme was disrupted, limiting face-to-face interactions.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision by Practice Plus Group ensured urgent medical needs were met and the Covid-19 vaccination programme was efficiently rolled out. However, many clinics were suspended during the pandemic, leading to extended waiting times for GP and dentist appointments. A significant and annually reported concern is the substandard healthcare accommodation, which is cramped, suffers from mould and damp, and is not fit for purpose given the aging prison population and complex needs. Mental healthcare staff faced delays in obtaining specialist care and appropriate secure accommodation, with one prisoner held for over 98 days awaiting transfer.
Regime & Daily Life
For most of the reporting year, HMP Whatton operated under a severely restricted Covid-19 regime, with prisoners confined to their cells for up to 22 hours daily. The Board views this national lockdown as unsustainable and not constituting fair and humane treatment. Despite this, prisoners largely understood the reasons for the restrictions. Daily exercise was limited to half an hour, along with half an hour for domestics. Purposeful activity was significantly reduced, though efforts were made to provide in-cell occupation like books.
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 | 2 | 6 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 1 | 6 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 6 | 2 | |
| Equality | 3 | 8 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 8 | 8 | — |
| Food and kitchens | 3 | 2 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 13 | 7 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 8 | 4 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 58 | 22 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 11 | 16 | |
| Property within this establishment | 7 | 6 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 4 | 7 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 20 | 8 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 12 | 10 | |
| Transfers | 3 | 0 |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 1
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the minister intervene and address the issue of prisoners held for long periods with deteriorating mental health while awaiting secure hospital accommodation directly with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Prison Service develop a reliable system of handling and tracking prisoners’ property, to reduce these unacceptable losses and to minimise the number of compensation claims?
HMPPS
Administration
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Will the Prison Service, once again, consider substantial refurbishment or replacement of the healthcare facilities?
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Will the Prison Service review, with other agencies, the timely notification of approved premises for released prisoners, to give them the best chance of resettlement and rehabilitation?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 5
Will the Governor review the complaints procedure to ensure it is timely, reliable, and credible?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Other IMB Reports for Whatton
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
15 Jan 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 2
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.