Prison
Cat YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Aylesbury
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 23 October 2020
Aylesbury YOI, operating with a reduced population of 209 due to special measures, successfully improved its safety and operational performance, leading to the withdrawal of its special measures status. Despite positive developments like improved staff-prisoner relationships and infrastructure upgrades, significant concerns persist regarding the amount of time prisoners spend locked in cells, the quality of purposeful activity, and ongoing staffing and estate issues. The report also highlights challenges in addressing equality and diversity, and the impact of long segregation stays on young prisoners' wellbeing.
Positive Findings
The Board maintained positive relationships with prison staff, and Aylesbury successfully exited special measures due to operational improvements, partly driven by an enhanced staff-to-prisoner ratio. The key worker scheme was a significant success, fostering strong staff-prisoner relationships and reducing direct applications to the Board. Infrastructure saw improvements, including new showers and in-cell telephony, complemented by impressive efforts from the equalities team and a highly valued chaplaincy service.
Key Concerns
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The IMB remains deeply concerned by the large percentage of young offenders staying locked in their cells each day, rather than taking part in education and/or work. Disappointingly, the reduction in prisoner numbers made little impact on this problem.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The data showing that, on average, on any weekday, only 64% of the prisoners were out of their cells, is deeply worrying.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Work options remain unexciting, seldom recognisably accredited and poorly related to modern life.
Safety
Repeated
A significant number of prisoners continued to report feeling unsafe in the prison, especially on their first night.
Safety
Gang culture is perceived to be a driver for a significant number of violent incidents.
Segregation
Repeated
A prisoner can spend up to three months in the segregation unit awaiting transfer to another prison. This is the same as in the previous year, and remains much longer than is appropriate for prisoners in this age group. It raises important concerns for their mental and physical wellbeing.
Staffing
Repeated
Staff recruitment and retention remain problematic at Aylesbury. Housing costs locally are relatively high, unmatched by wage levels for many officers. Security clearance is still a lengthy process. Staff dropout rate has not reduced.
Equality/Diversity
The HMIP report on the prison (published 25 February 2020) noted that ‘Equality and diversity work [in the prison] was in disarray which [is] a significant concern in a prison holding such a diverse population’.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Aylesbury’s few non-native English-speaking prisoners receive no specific English for speakers of other languages tuition. The names of staff with language skills are available to other staff, but we experience that this help is seldom accessed when needed.
Estate/Conditions
Disappointingly, no contracts had been placed by mid-year and no significant work was done for almost 12 months, to the end of our reporting period (March 2020).
Food/Catering
Repeated
Unserviceable and half-functioning kitchen equipment continues to be a problem.
Estate/Conditions
One area we feel is inadequate is the G wing exercise yard. This is by far the smallest exercise yard in the prison.
Healthcare
Many BAME prisoners mentioned problems in accessing healthcare; some feared violence in the waiting room, and appointments were missed.
Complaints/Property
Distrust in the complaints system was widespread; BAME and Muslim prisoners stated that ‘all’ prisoners felt that it had failed them.
Healthcare
The delivery of physical healthcare services might improve if shaped more consciously to meet the needs of young men, with difficult backgrounds, living under the close scrutiny of their peers.
Healthcare
prisoners walking across the yard to the health centre are visible from many angles of the prison. This factor alone may deter prisoners from accessing the health centre or attending appointments once booked.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Despite local recruitment and retention challenges, the prison benefited significantly from a reduced prisoner population coupled with stable staff numbers, leading to an improved staff-to-prisoner ratio of 1:12.5. This, along with increased officer experience and a reduction in reliance on detached duty staff, contributed to overall improvements. The key worker scheme was a notable success, enhancing officer-prisoner relationships and resolving many issues internally.
Healthcare
Healthcare services, provided by Care UK, offer a full range of physical and mental health support, though provision could be better tailored to the unique needs of young men. While there were generally no waiting lists for GP or dental appointments until the COVID-19 pandemic, the visibility of the health centre from the yard may deter some prisoners. The ongoing integration of clinical services is a positive step towards a more holistic, single referral system.
Regime & Daily Life
Despite a reduced prisoner population, the Board remains deeply concerned about the significant number of young offenders spending too much time locked in cells, with only 64% of prisoners out of cells on average weekdays. Work options are criticized for being unexciting and poorly accredited. Positive developments include the introduction of in-cell telephony and a new points-based incentives policy designed to encourage good behaviour, though the impact of COVID-19 on regime delivery is noted.
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 transfers) | 45 | 38 | |
| Complaints procedures | 2 | 2 | — |
| Discipline | 6 | 4 | |
| Discrimination | 3 | 2 | |
| Family and personal relationships | 10 | 7 | |
| Food | 8 | 8 | — |
| Healthcare | 20 | 23 | |
| Legal | 2 | 2 | — |
| Pay and private cash | 1 | 1 | — |
| Property | 26 | 25 | |
| Purposeful activity (including education) | 10 | 9 | |
| Release and recall | 21 | 16 | |
| Religion | 3 | 2 | |
| Respect and decency | 12 | 18 | |
| Segregation | 3 | 2 | |
| Staff behaviour and attitude | 13 | 14 | |
| Total | 185 | 173 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 4
Recommendation 1
Share a clear set of nationally agreed priority improvements in young prisoner employment and vocational training, to ensure a much improved use of resources over a two- to five-year period. Back this effort with collection and analysis of appropriate data.
Ministry of Justice
Education
Recommendation 2
Advocate across Whitehall for a stronger national commitment to prisoner rehabilitation, backed by shared best practice and suitable resourcing.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Resource YOIs sufficiently well to secure decency in the prison and an improvement in life chances after release.
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 4
Establish and deliver best-in-class training for senior officers in YOIs, based on up-to-date professional knowledge and research.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 5
Systematically grasp the opportunity to turn lives around early, and reduce repeat-offending rates, by demanding better educational and training outcomes in YOIs nationally, backed by professionally informed practice and proper data analysis.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 6
Deliver a systematic, speedy and data-supported response to the recommendations of the last inspection.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 7
Focus management effort, and discretionary resourcing, on increasing the frequency, regularity and quality of out-of-cell occupation.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 8
Maintain the gains in prisoner experience, made since the reduction in prisoner numbers, as the prison population increases once again.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 9
Move out of COVID-19 lockdown protocols as swiftly and smoothly as possible, following guidelines as necessary.
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Aylesbury
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
2 Feb 2026
Unannounced
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.