Prison
Cat YOI, Category C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Brinsford
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 29 January 2021
HMP/YOI Brinsford, accommodating young men and Category C prisoners, demonstrated effective management during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant reduction in self-harm and assaults. Despite a highly restricted regime, prisoners were treated fairly, and healthcare provision was generally good. However, persistent issues, including delays in mental health transfers, an inadequate education contract, and poor property management, remain key concerns, many of which are long-standing.
Positive Findings
Brinsford remains a safe prison, particularly during lockdown, with reduced levels of self-harm and violence. Prisoners have been treated fairly and humanely, appreciating additional benefits like extra telephone credit. Healthcare services are generally good, with staff commendable for their work with vulnerable patients and effective pandemic management. The chaplaincy team also contributes positively to the atmosphere.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The ongoing problem of relocating prisoners with mental health problems to more suitable treatment centres, an unacceptable concern highlighted in annual reports for several years.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The deficiencies in rehabilitative work and preparations for release, which have been subjects of frequent comment in recent annual reports with little change.
Safety
Repeated
Difficult Category B prisoners spending long periods at Brinsford and often isolated in the CSU due to reluctance of other establishments to take them, a concern highlighted in the last three annual reports.
Other
Repeated
The poor and failing system for retaining possession and control of prisoners’ property, particularly during transfers, which causes frustration.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The education contract, particularly with Novus, is not fit for purpose, with too many cancelled classes, a low number of courses, and a lack of meaningful provision during lockdown, a repeated concern from last year.
Estate/Conditions
The poor fabric of the prison requiring more investment in maintenance and refurbishment.
Safety
The high number of use of force incidents and the need to improve the quality of associated paperwork.
Substance Misuse
Continued concern regarding access to drugs and prohibited items, with prisoners often circumventing security measures.
Staffing
The key worker programme, having almost disappeared during the pandemic, needs to be resurrected as a priority.
Resettlement/Release
Limited provision by the Probation Service, causing significant problems with sentence planning and risk assessment during the COVID-19 crisis.
Resettlement/Release
The unavailability of short offending behaviour courses or rolling programmes, which are essential for release preparation.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Remand prisoners (approximately 26% of the population) are ineligible for offence-focused interventions, OMU services, or sentence plans.
Resettlement/Release
Insufficient support for care leavers (around 25% of the population) to prevent reoffending and the 'revolving door' cycle.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff are largely running a safe prison, but the key worker programme, which started well, almost disappeared during the pandemic and needs resurrection. Education spaces were reduced due to recruitment and retention of college staff, leading to a shortage of staff and cancelled lessons. Officers dedicated to healthcare have performed excellently.
Healthcare
Care UK provides reasonably good healthcare services, with positive comments from prisoners for the outpatient department. However, the Board holds long-standing concerns about the delayed relocation of mental health patients to suitable treatment centres, despite small improvements. Nursing staff and officers in healthcare are commended for their excellent work with vulnerable patients, leading to a reduction in constant watch cases, and effectively managed the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime has been severely restricted since March 2020 due to COVID-19, with prisoners confined to their cells for up to 23 hours a day. Prior to the pandemic, purposeful activity places were too low, leaving many prisoners unemployed. During lockdown, all non-essential activities ceased, resulting in approximately 440 prisoners having no work outside their cells, though essential services continued with 123 prisoners working per session.
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 | 11 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 2 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 1 | 6 | |
| Equality | 0 | 4 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 1 | 5 | |
| Food and kitchens | 0 | 1 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 7 | 15 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 8 | 7 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 5 | 12 | |
| Property within this establishment | 8 | 8 | — |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 1 | 8 | |
| Sentence management including home detention curfew, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 10 | 14 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 9 | 15 | |
| Transfers | 5 | 23 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 1
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Can the minister provide a date for the introduction of a new information technology system worthy of the 21st century, which can replace the current inefficient and cumbersome paper-based systems in place?
Ministry of Justice
Administration
Recommendation 2
Repeated
What steps will the Prison Service take to review the relevant contracts to address these issues, to support the efforts of the local leadership team?
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 3
As the COVID-19 restrictions are eased and education provision is restarted, what steps will the Prison Service take to ensure that the contract requires the provider to deliver meaningful and beneficial education to prisoners?
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 4
What changes to the curriculum will be introduced?
Governor / Director
Education
Other IMB Reports for Brinsford
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
5 Jun 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.