Prison
Cat D
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Springhill
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 13 May 2021
HMP Springhill experienced a challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to significant disruption of its rehabilitative regime. While staff were commended for maintaining safety with low self-harm and assault incidents, concerns arose regarding increased external threats, substance misuse, and communication challenges. The Board highlighted issues with equality, accommodation maintenance, and the fairness of furlough repayment, alongside a decline in resettlement outcomes for some individuals.
Positive Findings
The Board commended staff efforts for maintaining safety and treating residents humanely during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Pastoral support was good, and the healthcare team effectively managed primary and triaged secondary care. Education outcomes were strong with a 97% success rate. Initiatives like additional telephone credits for family contact, the introduction of hens, and creation of sleeping bag covers from crisp packets were welcomed.
Key Concerns
Safety
Intelligence reports of intruders, drop-offs, substance misuse, and threats to residents increased throughout the year, suggesting reduced safety.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Effective communication between staff and residents proved a challenge, especially with the prospect of the return of release on temporary licence (ROTL).
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Analysis of equality and diversity issues did not function effectively due to staff shortages, and the Board found some evidence that there are issues requiring investigation. These issues, including diversity/equality, were raised in 2019 and have yet to be addressed.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Issues with pest control and recurring problems with foul water systems requiring frequent repair in accommodation.
Healthcare
Decisions on early release on compassionate grounds and special licences did not defer more to the Governor’s recommendations and local risk assessments.
Resettlement/Release
Accommodation and employment prospects for a minority of residents on release were worse than the previous year.
Resettlement/Release
The confusing implementation of the government’s furlough scheme and associated repayments under the Prisoners Earnings Act (PEA) did not seem fair, particularly for residents who might have been eligible for refunds.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing shortages impacted the effectiveness of equality and diversity analysis. In December, 30 staff were off due to COVID-19 across Springhill and Grendon, affecting regime delivery. Despite pressures, staff training on suicide and self-harm improved. Staff were anxious not to provide false hope regarding ROTL, which contributed to communication challenges.
Healthcare
The healthcare team effectively identified vulnerable residents and managed primary and triaged secondary care throughout the pandemic. There was a significant increase in mental health referrals for new arrivals. While dental wait times were initially long, they improved by year-end. The Board raised concerns about centralized processes for compassionate and special licence release not adequately considering local risk assessments.
Regime & Daily Life
The pandemic severely interrupted the prison's regime, leading to increased boredom and frustration due to a lack of ROTL and limited purposeful activity. Face-to-face education, training, and full-time work were largely halted from March to September, and gym use was also intermittent. While some ROTLs and indoor gym sessions briefly restarted, they were soon suspended again due to ongoing restrictions.
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 | 1 | 2 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 0 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives and earned privileges, sanctions | 0 | 2 | |
| Equality | 1 | 2 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 2 | 1 | |
| Food and kitchens | 1 | 0 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 0 | 1 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 0 | 0 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 1 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 3 | 3 | — |
| Property within this establishment | 0 | 0 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 0 | 0 | |
| Sentence management, including home detention curfew, ROTL, parole, release dates, recategorization | 2 | 3 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 0 | 0 | |
| Transfers | 2 | 0 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 2
Governor / Director: 2
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
In light of the pandemic, are processes about special licences and release on compassionate grounds to be reviewed, with more delegated authority to the Governor and consideration given to local risk assessment?
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Recommendation 2
Will prisons be able to resume processing refund requests on residents’ furlough earnings where appropriate?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board looks forward to: the prison re-establishing separate equalities and diversity meetings to review any emerging issues.
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 4
The Board looks forward to: ongoing improvements to effective communication with residents.
Governor / Director
Regime