Prison
Cat B, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Hull
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 27 July 2020
HMP Hull, a category B local and YOI prison, recorded 8 deaths in custody this year, including four self-inflicted, but generally maintained a safe environment with reductions in violence and substance misuse incidents. While healthcare provision and purposeful activity are largely positive, the Board identified significant concerns including persistent problems with property management, delays in mental health transfers, slow contractor responses to maintenance, and a lack of post-release outcome data. Recommendations address these issues, aiming to improve prisoner experience, particularly for vulnerable individuals and young adults.
Positive Findings
HMP Hull has maintained a safe and supportive environment, with a notable reduction in violence, substance misuse, and self-harm trends compared to the previous year. Healthcare provision is generally good, and significant improvements have been made in collaboration with external resettlement providers and family links. The key worker scheme, although facing initial challenges, has been carefully introduced and welcomed by prisoners. Workshops are popular and provide valuable skills, and the education program is well-provided. The prison's dedication to supporting vulnerable and elderly prisoners, alongside its impressive wellbeing and PIPE units, are also commendatory.
Key Concerns
Safety
Eight deaths in custody, including four self-inflicted, three natural causes, and one drug-related.
Other
Persistent issues with property management, including missing property during transfers and inconsistent approaches between establishments, causing significant distress to prisoners.
Estate/Conditions
Slow and inadequate response from external facilities management contractors (Amey, BT) to critical maintenance issues, such as faulty showers and in-cell phones, impacting the living environment.
Mental Health
Significant delays and difficulties in transferring prisoners with complex needs, particularly those requiring secure mental health facilities, leading to prolonged stays in unsuitable units within the prison.
Complaints/Property
The complaints system is ineffective for many prisoners due to incomprehensible policy statements and complex language in written replies, sustaining disengagement.
Resettlement/Release
Lack of routine availability of clear data on prisoner outcomes post-release (re-offending, housing, employment/education), impeding the assessment of resettlement strategy effectiveness.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Recruitment issues within education leading to the closure of some workshops (joinery, ICT) and initial education assessments failing to address prisoner disengagement from learning.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Despite an influx of new and inexperienced staff, prison officers generally maintain good rapport and effectively manage incidents. The key worker scheme, initially well-received, experienced some commitment issues from staff after its introduction, but monitoring has improved compliance from 56% to 70%. The education provider faced recruitment challenges, though most classes remained open. The OMU is noted as well-staffed and busy.
Healthcare
Healthcare services, provided by CHCP, are generally of good quality and comparable to community standards, offering a full range of physical and mental health services, including specialist clinics and a palliative care suite. The Wellbeing Unit and PIPE Unit provide positive and rehabilitative environments for prisoners with mental health needs, although challenges persist with transferring seriously unwell individuals to appropriate secure facilities. Some issues were noted with overcrowding and conditions in healthcare waiting rooms, and common complaints concerned prescribing and mental health services.
Regime & Daily Life
Daily routines and regimes are generally fair and supportive, with positive management observed in the segregation and wellbeing units. Prisoners, particularly vulnerable ones, have tailored activity schedules and access to daily exercise and time out of cell for those not engaged in full-time work or education. Towards the end of the reporting year, the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant restrictions with prisoners limited to cells for most of the day, though staff maintained a calm atmosphere. Workshops are well-attended, with prisoners expressing a desire for longer working hours.
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 | 8 | 12 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 2 | 2 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 5 | 4 | |
| Equality | 10 | 7 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 0 | 0 | |
| Food and kitchens | 3 | 1 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 25 | 36 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 24 | 10 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 50 | 26 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 24 | 12 | |
| Property within this establishment | 23 | 11 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 8 | 17 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 14 | 8 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 38 | 24 | |
| Transfers | 11 | 10 |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 2
Recommendation 1
Develop better feedback on prisoners’ after release so that prisons can see whether their resettlement straegies are working.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Improving the consistency of property management within and between prisons.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 3
Improving the initial education assessments to overcome the disengagement that leads some prisoners into reoffending.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 4
Develop greater collaboration between the ‘early days in custody’ arrangements with the key worker scheme to better understand and deal with risk factors around harm to self and/or others.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 5
Develop the key worker scheme to better understand the needs of young adults making use of, for example, the maturity screening toolkit.
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Hull
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
14 Apr 2025
IRP
17 Jun 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.