Prison
Cat C training
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Littlehey
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 20 October 2021
HMP Littlehey operated as a Category C training prison for sex offenders, holding 1,098 prisoners under severe COVID-19 restrictions for 11 months of the reporting period. The Board found the prison generally safe and humane, noting a decrease in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults but an increase in staff assaults and a high number of deaths in custody. Key concerns include the proposal for new double cells, persistent issues with shared accommodation, long mental health waiting times, and a significant lack of purposeful activity for prisoners.
Positive Findings
HMP Littlehey maintained a safe and secure environment with low rates of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and commendably managed the challenges of the pandemic, ensuring humane treatment. The Board welcomed the new older persons strategy and an increased focus on diversity and inclusion. Healthcare and chaplaincy teams were particularly praised for their adaptability and dedication, introducing video visits and a self-help mental health leaflet. Educational and vocational efforts, such as contributions to the Fine Cell Work charity and successful functional skills exams, also highlight positive engagements despite regime restrictions.
Key Concerns
Overcrowding
The Board was advised during the annual reporting period that the residential wing to be built to replace the closed G wing will consist of double cells. The Board believes this contravenes Ministry of Justice strategy and would be a retrograde step in terms of safety and decency.
Estate/Conditions
The Board believes that appropriate accommodation for the aged and disabled prison population needs to be a significant consideration in the final decision of the replacement for G wing.
Overcrowding
Repeated
As stated in last year’s report, there continue to be too many prisoners forced to share cells, some of which are designed as single cells.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Property continues to be the area most complained about and recognised as such across the prison estate. The HMPPS property group has not yet introduced any changes to address this issue and as far as the Board is aware the promised policy framework for prisoner’s property has still not been published.
Complaints/Property
In addition, the slow, or lack of, response from some prisons in responding to prisoner complaints about their missing or damaged property after their transfer to HMP Littlehey continues to be an area of frustration for all concerned.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Given its large elderly population, HMP Littlehey should continue to provide opportunities for physical activity, mental stimulation and to encourage mobility. In addition, the provision of suitable accommodation, including wheelchair access where appropriate, needs to be given priority.
Equality/Diversity
While the Board recognises the progress made during the year on understanding the equality issues at HMP Littlehey it believes this area needs further development to fully understand any underlying factors or issues which may be leading to the over-representation of different groups within such areas as adjudications.
Safety
With the high number of deaths in custody the Board asks whether the Governor will be focussing on the learning points from those that have occurred and, whether she will be addressing the number of trained family liaison officers (FLOs).
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Despite the huge amount of money spent on extensive boiler and piping work during the last three years, hot water supply and heating is still erratic in some areas. During colder weather the prison resorted to providing individual fan heaters and duvets to prisoners when required. C Wing was particularly affected during the coldest parts of winter. The Board is particularly disappointed that this issue remains outstanding given that it has been highlighted in previous reports
Segregation
Repeated
The Board reiterates the point made last year that this area [CSU] is unsuitable for prisoners who need long-term isolation to protect themselves or others, especially if they also have severe mental health issues.
Staffing
key work notes on prisoner records have, in many cases, been lacking or otherwise fail to reflect the intent of the key work initiative. This, coupled with the lack of understanding of the key work concept of several prisoners questioned as part of a themed rota visit on the topic during the period, suggests a lack of meaningful roll-out.
Equality/Diversity
non-white ethnicities continue to be over-represented in their proportion of complaints.
Equality/Diversity
the ‘black’ representation in adjudications rose from 26% to over 30%. The Board continues to be disappointed that there is little understanding of the causes of these anomalies.
Equality/Diversity
It is disappointing to note, as per Table 2, that the black prisoners are over-represented in the use of force, as it is in the proportion of adjudications.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
no progress in increasing the provision of purposeful activity for this age group [older prisoners].
Healthcare
Repeated
The maintenance of wheelchairs (personal, council owned, NHS owned) was highlighted in the previous annual report and continued to be an issue during this reporting year.
Staffing
Staff recognise they need training to build the knowledge, skills and confidence to properly support these prisoners [with learning difficulties and disabilities]; however, such training planned to take place during 2020 has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Mental Health
the waiting times to see a member of the mental health team increased significantly from five days in July 2020 to 42 days by December 2020.
Estate/Conditions
the prison continues to have only a small number of disability cells available and, given the prison age profile, this area needs to be prioritised.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The Board is disappointed to learn that the inter-library lending facility previously offered, is no longer available under the new contract
Regime/Time Out of Cell
of a total population of 1,098 prisoners, 292 had no assigned activity for any part of the day (26.6%). Excluding those noted as fully retired, the proportion of all-day unassigned prisoners was 16.1%. Prisoners under retirement age who are unassigned work or education will spend nearly all day locked in their cells.
Resettlement/Release
early in this reporting year it was unclear where the line management responsibilities for aspects of the process were and that, on occasion, there appeared to be little co-ordination or joined up thinking between the agencies.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Progress on the declared focus on OASys noted last year has not noticeably improved. Prisoners continue to arrive at HMP Littlehey without an initial OASys assessment (circa 33% according to the HMIP summer 2020 inspection) which delays assessment and access to interventions and accredited programmes
Resettlement/Release
this reporting year continued to show little impact on the backlog of OASys reports, resulting in few prisoners having a suitable sentence plan.
Resettlement/Release
The opportunity for OMU staff to engage directly with prisoners has reduced, becoming irregular at best, which has detrimentally affected their ability to proactively address the prisoners’ offending behaviour and progression. The lack of interventions and programmes has exacerbated this situation.
Resettlement/Release
Table 5 shows that 93 (32%) prisoners were released on a Friday (source: HMPPS Performance Hub), which the Board considers challenging given the rural location and the need to travel to planned accommodation. Prisoners often relocate to remote or unfamiliar areas and may consequently struggle to make mandated appointment deadlines with their probation officers, for example.
Resettlement/Release
15 (5%) prisoners were released immediately before or during public holiday periods, when public transport restrictions may offer additional challenges, of those, three were released to transient accommodation and one prisoner was homeless
Resettlement/Release
The nature of the partnerships between CF03, BeNCH and NACRO, and how they allocate prisoners for resettlement, remains unclear to those being prepared for release. None of the prisoners interviewed by the Board... were aware of any of these partnership organisations, or how they could help their resettlement. Nor were many aware of those within the prison assigned to help with their resettlement and resettlement planning.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is disappointed that the reorganisation of staff at HMP Littlehey detrimentally affected the maintenance and distribution of the excellent guide to resettlement initially produced during 2019.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The key worker scheme was significantly compromised by pandemic restrictions, leading to frequent staff changes and inconsistent record-keeping, though a new Governor is committed to full implementation of the OMiC model. Staffing levels were challenged by mental health team understaffing and an average of 2.5 staff shielding monthly due to the pandemic. Despite this, positive changes included the appointment of a trained PEI as custodial manager, and gym staff adapted to escort duties.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision, managed by Northampton Health NHS Foundation Trust and Prison-Centred Dental Care, adapted significantly to pandemic restrictions, suspending routine services and conducting consultations on wings. Staffing challenges persisted, particularly in mental health, where caseloads increased and waiting times extended to 42 days. Despite this, the team maintained essential care, implemented self-help resources, and collaborated effectively on social care, which was noted as high standard, including the introduction of technical aids for older prisoners.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison operated under severe restrictions for 11 months due to the pandemic, significantly curtailing normal activities, education, workshops, gym, and time out of cells, negatively impacting mental wellbeing. Purposeful activity for older prisoners saw no progress, with almost 55% of those 65 and over being unallocated, and 16.1% of under-retirement-age prisoners spending nearly all day locked in cells. Despite these limitations, PE staff made efforts to provide circuit training and in-cell exercises, and the prison maintained a basic library outreach service.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjudications | 6 | 6 | — |
| Complaints | 93 | 113 | |
| Diet/catering | 28 | 42 | |
| Discrimination | 3 | 2 | |
| Equality (other) | 10 | 13 | |
| Faith | 11 | 14 | |
| Family contact | 115 | 220 | |
| Foreign Nationals | 1 | 3 | |
| General | 767 | 1,147 | |
| Healthcare | 175 | 198 | |
| IPP | 12 | 10 | |
| Legal | 5 | 9 | |
| Others | 33 | 60 | |
| Property | 146 | 170 | |
| Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) | 4 | 10 | |
| Segregation | 37 | 40 | |
| Transfers | 14 | 18 | |
| Visits | 2 | 12 | |
| Work/education/activities | 11 | 12 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
The Board was advised during the annual reporting period that the residential wing to be built to replace the closed G wing will consist of double cells. The Board believes this contravenes Ministry of Justice strategy and would be a retrograde step in terms of safety and decency.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
The Board believes that appropriate accommodation for the aged and disabled prison population needs to be a significant consideration in the final decision of the replacement for G wing.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As stated in last year’s report, there continue to be too many prisoners forced to share cells, some of which are designed as single cells.
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Property continues to be the area most complained about and recognised as such across the prison estate. The HMPPS property group has not yet introduced any changes to address this issue and as far as the Board is aware the promised policy framework for prisoner’s property has still not been published.
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 5
In addition, the slow, or lack of, response from some prisons in responding to prisoner complaints about their missing or damaged property after their transfer to HMP Littlehey continues to be an area of frustration for all concerned.
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board reiterates the questions we asked last year – when will the new policy framework for prisoners’ property be published? And, when issues do arise, how will the prison service ensure complaints to other establishments are dealt with in a timely manner?
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 7
Given its large elderly population, HMP Littlehey should continue to provide opportunities for physical activity, mental stimulation and to encourage mobility. In addition, the provision of suitable accommodation, including wheelchair access where appropriate, needs to be given priority.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 8
While the Board recognises the progress made during the year on understanding the equality issues at HMP Littlehey it believes this area needs further development to fully understand any underlying factors or issues which may be leading to the over-representation of different groups within such areas as adjudications.
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 9
With the high number of deaths in custody the Board asks whether the Governor will be focussing on the learning points from those that have occurred and, whether she will be addressing the number of trained family liaison officers (FLOs).
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Littlehey
2026
Published 13 May 2026
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
4 Sep 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 2
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.