Prison
Cat D
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
North Sea Camp
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 3 September 2021
The IMB report for HMP North Sea Camp for 2020-21 highlights an exceptionally difficult year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. While the Board found the prison generally safe and humane with good healthcare, severe regime restrictions led to prisoner confinement and frustration. Key concerns include inadequate and aging accommodation, especially cramped double rooms, slow responses from the Offender Management Unit, and the lack of a dedicated end-of-life care facility.
Positive Findings
The IMB is satisfied that HMP North Sea Camp generally provides humane and just treatment, a safe environment, and good healthcare, despite the pandemic's impact. The rehabilitative culture is strong, fostering a polite and calm atmosphere, and staff effectively integrate all prisoners. Recycling activities offer valuable employment skills. Prisoners also appreciated receiving full wages despite not being able to work during restrictions. The new IEP scheme is easier to understand and 98% of prisoners were on enhanced status. The library is well run and appreciated by prisoners.
Key Concerns
Healthcare
Currently, there is no facility within HMP North Sea Camp where prisoners can be suitably cared for during an end-of-life period; there are no on-site residential healthcare facilities. This means that prisoners who have chronic and other serious health issues stay on the units within the prison, surrounded by the other prisoners and the usual activities of everyday prison life. This has a very upsetting effect on those prisoners living alongside.
Estate/Conditions
With the exception of the Selby units, all accommodation has been in service for several decades and in many cases requires more than the periodic repairs which the prison undertakes.
Overcrowding
Repeated
The size of the double rooms in all the main accommodation units is not adequate in that it is often impossible to put a chair or table, let alone two of each, into a room. The cramped accommodation means that the accommodation listed does not comply with the Prison Service Instruction (PSI) when used by two prisoners.
Equality/Diversity
Prisoners who use wheelchairs can experience difficulties travelling to and getting overnight accommodation at approved premises (APs) when going on resettlement overnight release (ROR), which can delay their ROTL programme and have a significant delaying effect on their sentence plan and parole board hearings.
Staffing
Prisoners said they had issues with the offender management unit (OMU) ... prisoners said that they felt the OMU were slow to respond to requests and there was no face-to-face contact even in the outside during the lockdowns. In the IMB prisoner survey, 50% (of the 99 who responded) felt that they had been inadequately prepared for release.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The restrictions on leaving cells due to the Covid-19 lockdown meant that for a large proportion of the reporting year prisoners were confined to their cells for most of the day. Many prisoners felt this was unfair and inhumane as cells are small, some had to be shared by two prisoners and HMP North Sea Camp is an open prison with a large amount of land accessible to prisoners.
Estate/Conditions
The IMB is concerned by the time taken to complete routine maintenance jobs, and the issues around the transfer of prisoners’ property. These are issues that are provided by contracted out services and the Board is concerned that contract failures do not result in penalties to encourage compliance.
Resettlement/Release
Offender managers in the probation service often take a long time to update their part of an offender assessment system (OASys) and to complete the paperwork to enable prisoners to sit ROTL boards. This can mean prisoners having to postpone Parole Board hearings as they have not done the required ROTLs and means prisoners may spend more time in prison than strictly necessary.
Equality/Diversity
There are some areas of the prison inaccessible to prisoners with physical disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs (see paragraphs 5.4.2 and 6.2.8). Although improvements have been made, budget needs to be allocated so that all areas are accessible to those who use wheelchairs, especially bariatric wheelchairs.
Overcrowding
Repeated
In order to ensure that no prisoner is asked to share with more than one other person, budget needs to be allocated to convert the current dormitories to smaller rooms so that, when HMP North Sea Camp is at full capacity, no prisoners will have to share with more than one other person.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff-prisoner relationships are generally positive, but there were concerns regarding OMU staff's interaction, slow response times, and inconsistent rule application. A number of staff were on long-term temporary promotion, which may have impacted their ability to question mandates. Offender managers in the probation service were slow to update paperwork, causing delays in ROTL boards and parole hearings. All 67 staff requiring control and restraint training had up-to-date certification.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision at HMP North Sea Camp is generally good, and the mental and physical healthcare teams were praised for their pandemic response, including increased mental health nurse staffing. However, non-urgent services like dental care, optician, and physiotherapy were disrupted. A key concern remains the lack of on-site residential or end-of-life care facilities, despite a small rise in anxiety and depression cases due to lockdown. Hospital consultant waiting times were 3-6 weeks, better than the community.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison operated under severe lockdown restrictions for much of the year due to Covid-19, leading to the confinement of prisoners to their rooms for most of the day, causing significant frustration. Education, ROTL, and most workshops did not fully function, and group religious activities ceased. Exercise opportunities were limited to timed programmes on the sports field, with the gymnasium remaining closed. Prisoners felt the open spaces could have been better utilised for more time out of cell.
Recommendations (7)
HMPPS: 5
Governor / Director: 2
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
The IMB is concerned by the time taken to complete routine maintenance jobs, and the issues around the transfer of prisoners’ property. These are issues that are provided by contracted out services and the Board is concerned that contract failures do not result in penalties to encourage compliance.
HMPPS
Estate, Complaints
Recommendation 2
Opportunities should be taken to return to a regime where prisoners can have more time away from their accommodation and resume their resettlement plans.
HMPPS
Regime, Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Offender managers in the probation service often take a long time to update their part of an offender assessment system (OASys) and to complete the paperwork to enable prisoners to sit ROTL boards. This can mean prisoners having to postpone Parole Board hearings as they have not done the required ROTLs and means prisoners may spend more time in prison than strictly necessary. Timescales for return of paperwork would be helpful.
HMPPS
Resettlement, Staffing
Recommendation 4
There are some areas of the prison inaccessible to prisoners with physical disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs (see paragraphs 5.4.2 and 6.2.8). Although improvements have been made, budget needs to be allocated so that all areas are accessible to those who use wheelchairs, especially bariatric wheelchairs. This issue is also of concern to the Governor, but more budget from central resources needs to be allocated for improvements.
HMPPS
Equality, Estate
Recommendation 5
Repeated
In order to ensure that no prisoner is asked to share with more than one other person, budget needs to be allocated to convert the current dormitories to smaller rooms so that, when HMP North Sea Camp is at full capacity, no prisoners will have to share with more than one other person.
HMPPS
Overcrowding, Estate
Response
The current Governor has submitted a bid for the funding required to convert the dormitories to smaller two-person rooms.
Recommendation 6
Prisoners say that the OMU do not respond in a timely manner or keep appointments and that at times OMU staff could be more courteous (paragraph 7.3.2). This needs addressing and maybe the rollout of offender management in custody (OMiC) will help with this.
Governor / Director
Staffing, Resettlement
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ensure that work continues on the further extension of Jubilee self-catering housing.
Governor / Director
Estate
Response
Work has continued on the refurbishment of some disused staff housing, to add these premises to the Jubilee self-catering housing project. This work is now due for completion in early 2022 (some delay has been caused by a colony of bats).
Other IMB Reports for North Sea Camp
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
22 May 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 3
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.