Prison
Cat YOI, Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Feltham
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 6 January 2021
HMYOI Feltham's report (Nov 2019-Aug 2020) highlights a challenging period dominated by COVID-19 lockdown. While staff were commended for their dedication and a reduction in violence and self-harm was noted, concerns persist regarding the long-term impact of extreme confinement on prisoners' mental health. Significant issues include deteriorating accommodation, delays in mental health transfers, and insufficient purposeful activity for young adults.
Positive Findings
The Board commends staff and governors for their dedication and resilience, particularly during the unprecedented COVID-19 lockdown, noting a remarkable response from both staff and prisoners. Significant improvements in Feltham A led to a welcome reduction in violence and self-harm. Healthcare services have improved with strong leadership, and initiatives like the Falcon unit and key worker scheme proved beneficial. The prison showed compassion and ingenuity in adapting the regime and providing support, with young prisoners displaying maturity and understanding.
Key Concerns
Regime/Time Out of Cell
it must be of serious concern that under the COVID restrictions young people and young adults were, by order from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), confined to their rooms for up to 23 hours a day for many weeks until the regime was permitted to ease. The effects of this extreme form of confinement may not become evident in the short term, but all involved with youth custody, at every level, should share the Board’s concern that many of these young men may suffer long-term mental, emotional or physical health problems as a consequence.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The living accommodation continues to deteriorate across the site, particularly in Feltham B. Condensation, poor ventilation, mould and rainwater ingress have all been raised again this year as decency concerns. The extremely hot weather over some weeks in the summer proved almost intolerable for many young prisoners held on their own for up to 23 hours a day in cramped, badly ventilated rooms which still feature open toilets. By any standards of health, safety and decency, this must be viewed as unacceptable.
Mental Health
Repeated
Every year, a small number of young prisoners exhibit acute mental health problems but there continue to be unacceptable delays in getting them transferred to more suitable secure settings. The impression given is that because these extremely unwell young prisoners are already in custody, their cases do not necessarily qualify as urgent. This was of significant concern to the Board between March and July 2020, when psychology interventions, and the progression of acute mental health cases, all but stopped.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Feltham B was re-rolled in 2015 to receive sentenced-only prisoners. Despite being designated a category C training prison, the infrastructure and financial support was never put in place to provide sufficient education, workshop or training opportunities for every young adult to take part. Some courses are ‘split’, so that more than one young adult may attend, while other courses cannot be run because of difficulties and delays in recruiting qualified instructors. Cancellations often take place at short notice. Too many young adults choose not to engage at all. The limited teaching resources and the appalling state of the workshop buildings all compound the problem. The Board is of the view that the provision of good-quality training opportunities in prison must now take on an even greater urgency, given the impending jobs crisis after the pandemic is over.
Substance Misuse
What is being done to address the fact that contraband continues to be discovered during lockdown?
Other
Repeated
The handling of prisoners’ property, whether in prison or on transfer to prison, remains a serious unresolved issue. Prisoners can wait a significant and unreasonable time to receive their property. The Board has continued to deal with issues around missing property, notably property lost during transit between prisons, but lockdown appears to have created an even more impenetrable barrier to communications between establishments.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff, particularly governors, were highly commended for their dedication and innovative care during the pandemic. The key worker scheme in Feltham B was beneficial but paused during lockdown. Psychology services were significantly withdrawn for several months, causing grave concern, before returning in July. Staff faced challenges maintaining social distancing and, initially, with personal protective equipment. Healthcare staff numbers increased from 40 to 61 over the year.
Healthcare
Healthcare services have improved this year, with strong leadership and increased staffing after a change in provider to Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust. However, there were unacceptable and long delays in transferring prisoners with acute mental health problems to specialist secure settings. Psychology interventions largely ceased during lockdown, creating a significant care vacuum for vulnerable young people, though other healthcare appointments generally continued.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime was drastically altered by COVID-19 lockdown, confining prisoners to their rooms for up to 23 hours a day for many weeks. While prisoners noted the predictability of the limited regime and felt safer, the Board raised serious concerns about the potential long-term mental, emotional, and physical health impacts of such extended confinement. Time out of room, averaging nine hours before lockdown, dropped significantly before gradually increasing to seven hours by July, with gym sessions moving to exercise yards.
Recommendations (8)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 4
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
Will the cap on admissions of young people to Feltham A be made permanent, and good levels of staffing be maintained?
Other
(minister)
Safety
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will further capital investment be made to modernise the residential living conditions for all young prisoners at Feltham, thereby offering them the most basic standards of decency and hygiene?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will sufficient resources be committed, to ensure that all young adult prisoners receive a variety of relevant training opportunities to properly justify the listing of Feltham as a category C training prison?
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will YCS/HMPPS introduce an effective method throughout the criminal justice system, to ensure that prisoners’ property is moved with them whenever they move, and is easily traceable throughout the system?
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 5
What do you and your team consider to be the principal lessons learned over the lockdown period? How will the prison use these lessons to improve the lived experience for all young people and young adults held in custody at Feltham?
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 6
What is being done to address the fact that contraband continues to be discovered during lockdown?
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
Recommendation 7
Will you ensure that reliable daily time-out-of-room figures for young adults are as easily available as they currently are for young people?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 8
Will the prison guarantee to develop a wider range of outdoor activities and field sports once lockdown eases?
Governor / Director
Regime