Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Onley
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 28 April 2020
HMP Onley experienced a challenging year with a restricted regime, largely due to staffing shortages, though improvements were seen towards the end. Key concerns include significant issues with property transfers, a dysfunctional complaints process, and a lack of purposeful activity leading to prisoners spending extended periods in their cells. The Board highlights persistent problems with resettlement progression, including missing OASys reports and slow transfers, alongside concerns about drug availability, self-harm incidents, and the general state of the estate. While staff-prisoner relationships improved and the OMiC model showed promise, the report calls for urgent action on staffing, regime provision, and inmate progression.
Positive Findings
Relationships between prisoners and staff have shown a distinct improvement. The introduction of the OMiC model is progressing well, with enthusiastic adoption. Significant improvements in cleanliness across the wings and a reduction in violence were noted. The gym, library, and education centre offer good opportunities, and provision for all religious faiths is strong. The offender management unit and resettlement team have done good work in preparing prisoners for release. There's a well-established Listeners scheme and increased testing for new psychoactive substances. Healthcare staff levels have improved, leading to better access, and dental waiting times are comparable to the community.
Key Concerns
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Replies to complaints lack detail and are often not replied to in a timely manner, or at all, causing frustration and undermining the process.
Complaints/Property
A substantial number of adjudications are not proceeded with owing to procedural errors in processing.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Property remains a significant issue for prisoners, with problems related to lost, stolen or damaged in-possession property during transfers, often unaddressed by other prisons.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
A significant number of prisoners are not engaged in employment or education and are locked behind their door for large amounts of the day, which is unacceptable for a 'training' establishment.
Staffing
Repeated
Continuing issues with staffing levels led to a restricted regime for more than the first half of the reporting year, undermining prisoner benefit.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The continued absence of Offender Assessment System (OASys) reports on arrival for many prisoners hinders their progress towards successful rehabilitation and recategorisation.
Staffing
The inexperience of new staff, with 65% having less than two years' experience, sometimes undermines good work and requires greater training and support for POELTs.
Staffing
The current salary offered to instructors is uncompetitive, leading to struggles in recruiting instructors with necessary skills and inhibiting the expansion of purposeful activity.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The need for a capital bid for new kitchen equipment is essential, as existing equipment suffers constant breakdowns and rats are present in stores.
Resettlement/Release
Predominantly prisoners from London and the South-East are transferred to HMP Onley despite poor transport links, severely impacting family visits and undermining stability.
Overcrowding
Repeated
Excessive delays occur between the award of Category D or B status and transfer, causing overcrowding, frustration, and increased opportunities for violence at Onley, often due to receiving prisons refusing individuals or shortages of Cat D places.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Despite some expansion in vocational training, the best workshops accommodate only a fraction of eligible prisoners, highlighting the need to expand successful activities and introduce new ones.
Staffing
The local pay allowance at Onley should be increased to the London level to support recruitment and retention of staff, given local competition for jobs.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The mandated speed for dealing with prisoner complaints often results in responses that are not carefully considered, eroding prisoner confidence in the process.
Safety
The Board is concerned about the number of self-harm incidents in the reporting year and seeks assurances on actions being taken.
Staffing
Key workers are not spending the allocated amount of time with their assigned prisoners, necessitating additional training and quality assurance for P-Nomis entries.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
There is a continuing problem with drug trade and usage in the prison, increasing the likelihood of violence.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The availability of the library continued to be problematic, often shut for extended periods and only open during working hours, limiting prisoner access.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Gym sessions are still being scheduled during the working day, a long-standing issue noted in previous reports, which negatively impacts purposeful activity attendance.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Prisoners are occasionally sent back from activity placements due to overbooking or trainer unavailability, detrimental to motivation.
Education/Purposeful Activity
A large number of available work places are 'non-skilled', potentially impacting prisoners' ability to secure meaningful employment on release.
Staffing
Seven vacancies for training instructors inhibit the growth of available activity places, impacting the prison's ability to meet its targets.
Healthcare
Waiting times for prisoners on the induction wing to see a doctor lead to delays of up to two weeks in receiving medication, requiring more dedicated officer support for healthcare staff.
Healthcare
The prison is accepting prisoners at reception with severe health needs that it is unable to cope with, including inability to support regular escorts to outside hospitals.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels were problematic for the first half of the reporting year, leading to a restricted regime, though significant improvements were seen later. The Board noted the inexperience of new staff (65% with less than two years' experience), suggesting more training and support for POELTs is needed. Instructor recruitment is a challenge due to uncompetitive salaries, with seven vacancies reported. There is a concern that key workers are not spending allocated time with prisoners, and officers are often observed remaining in wing offices rather than interacting with prisoners. The Board suggests increasing the local pay allowance to the London level to aid recruitment and retention.
Healthcare
Healthcare services, including mental health and dentistry, are provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Efficiency in achieving correct rolls has improved, allowing more prisoners to be seen. Staff shortages, problematic earlier, are largely resolved with the team almost fully staffed and a new clinical team manager in post. NHS England has provided funding for mental health and trauma-informed treatment. Hospital visit delays have improved, and dental waiting times are typically two weeks. Concerns remain regarding delays of up to two weeks for induction wing prisoners to receive medication and the prison accepting prisoners with severe health needs it cannot adequately support, alongside a need for more officers to assist with medication queues.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime was restricted for much of the reporting year due to staffing issues, though it improved towards the end. A significant number of prisoners remain locked behind their doors daily, not engaged in purposeful activity, which is deemed unacceptable for a training establishment. Concerns include minimal time out of cell in the CSU and gym sessions scheduled during working hours. Insufficient activity places mean many prisoners stay on wings, and those attending activities are sometimes sent back due to overbooking or trainer shortages. There is a risk that the full regime may be curtailed again following the withdrawal of payment plus and detached duties.
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 | 9 | 6 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 15 | 12 | |
| Confidential access | 31 | — | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 4 | 21 | |
| Equality | 0 | 3 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 7 | 18 | |
| Food and kitchens | 10 | 10 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 24 | 13 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 10 | 18 | |
| Miscellaneous | 62 | 21 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 78 | 182 | |
| Property within this establishment | 22 | 42 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 49 | 22 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 98 | 200 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 58 | 10 | |
| Transfers | 31 | 56 |
Recommendations (16)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 8
Governor / Director: 4
10 repeated
Recommendation 1
Greater training/support is needed for POELTs to ensure that they carry out their jobs to the best of their abilities.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 2
The current salary offered to instructors does not compete favourably with that of outside employers in this area, with the result that the prison constantly struggles to recruit instructors with the necessary skills.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 3
Repeated
The Board believes that a capital bid for new kitchen equipment has been submitted, which is essential to provide adequate facilities in the kitchen.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 4
Repeated
A much better process of transferring property between prisons is needed.
Ministry of Justice
Complaints
Recommendation 5
The Prison Service should review its transfer policy for London and South-East prisoners to Onley, given poor transport links, to mitigate the severe impact on family visits and support stability and continuity.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
Repeated
The Prison Service should take a much more active and compelling role in ensuring the swift transfer of such prisoners [recategorised Cat D/B].
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Onley needs to be able to expand successful activities placements and introduce additional ones, to enable more rewarding and useful training, and eventual employment.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Stability across all operational grades, including senior managers, needs to be maintained. A focus on staff turnover, to allow stability across the establishment, is also required.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 9
Given the competition for jobs in the local area (Warwickshire Police, HS2, etc.), it is felt that the local pay allowance at Onley should be increased to the London level to support recruitment and retention of staff needs to be urgently addressed, in order to help the governor with staff retention.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 10
Repeated
The speed with which prisoner complaints have to be dealt with often results in responses that have not been carefully considered. Prisoners need to have confidence in this process.
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prisoner progression and rehabilitation continue to be undermined by the absence on arrival of OASys reports for prisoners. Greater availability of the Thinking Skills Programme and Resolve courses are needed to help prisoners gain category D status.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Once prisoners are eligible, movement to category D prisons is also very slow, causing further frustration for prisoners and staff.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 13
Repeated
The Board recognises the work undertaken in the latter part of the reporting year to run a full regime, but has concerns that after the withdrawal of payment plus and detached duties there is a risk that the regime may be curtailed again.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 14
Repeated
The Board feels that providing meaningful employment and tackling the large amount of drugs available in the establishment are the priorities that need to be improved in the short term.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 15
The Board is concerned at the number of self-harm incidents in the reporting year (4.8), and we would like assurances about the actions being taken.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 16
The Board is concerned that some key workers are not spending the allocated amount of time with their assigned prisoners, but rather briefly speaking to them as part of their normal wing duties. The Board often monitors P-Nomis entries by key workers, and believes that there is a need for additional training and quality assurance.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Other IMB Reports for Onley
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.