Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
The Verne
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 24 March 2026
HMP The Verne is a Category C training prison for men convicted of sexual offences, housing 645 prisoners at the end of the reporting period. The Board found it generally safe and humane, commending healthcare, key worker improvements, and the new Building Choices program. Key concerns include staffing uncertainty, lack of 24-hour clinical cover, and the impact of budget cuts on education and purposeful activity.
Positive Findings
HMP The Verne continues to be a safe and humane prison, with the majority of residents feeling safe and treated fairly. The Board commends the effective healthcare provision by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, particularly the social care suite for elderly prisoners, and notes improvements in key worker session compliance and OMU staffing. Positive progress has been made with the introduction of the Building Choices re-offending program and improvements in family contact and visitors' facilities. The education and gardens departments are also commended for their excellent work despite difficult circumstances.
Key Concerns
Staffing
The current temporary exemption for prison officers from the new visa extension salary requirement, which expires at the end of 2026, risks prolonged uncertainty for the workforce.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board believes that 24-hour clinical care provided by a nurse or paramedic could make a significant contribution to prisoner wellbeing, reducing reliance on emergency services and supporting safe medication administration during the night.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Continuing severe problems with equipment failures and ventilation in the D wing laundry since November 2024 have resulted in elderly and infirm prisoners receiving clean but damp washing for 12 months.
Resettlement/Release
The capacity of the newly introduced Building Choices program is insufficient, with the current delivery team only able to run around five moderate-intensity or two high-intensity courses per year, against a demand that would take approximately eight years to meet.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The training and education budget at The Verne faced a 32% reduction in full-time employment for the financial year, which will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of programmes delivered, despite an HMIP report commenting on the need for more purposeful activity.
Mental Health
There is currently no formal pathway for medical assessment of neurodiversity commissioned within the HMPPS health provision, and the neurodiversity support manager lacks an assistant despite a large number of neurodiverse prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels for key workers have significantly improved, achieving a 56% compliance rate, though this temporarily required restricting association time for some prisoners. Officer time is heavily impacted by hospital bed watches and escorts, sometimes leading to cancellations and staff shortages. While OMU staffing has greatly improved, the healthcare unit still has unfilled nursing posts. The Board also raises concerns about the temporary nature of the visa exemption for prison officers, which creates uncertainty for the workforce.
Healthcare
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust provides a high standard of healthcare, successfully maintaining services despite premises repairs. The 16-bed social care unit offers excellent 24-hour care for elderly prisoners with complex needs. However, the Board highlights a need for 24-hour on-site clinical cover to reduce reliance on emergency services and manage medication safely. Mental health staff also require more private consulting space, and there is no formal medical assessment pathway for neurodiversity.
Regime & Daily Life
The Verne maintains a good atmosphere of trust and respect, but increased intake of younger, less experienced prisoners has contributed to some disruptive behaviour. While prisoners generally enjoy good association time, temporary restrictions were implemented from April 2025 on some wings to facilitate key work sessions, impacting retired and unemployed prisoners. The open spur design, while offering a 'normal' life, also presents risks of bullying and exploitation. The prison offers a full programme of activities, although affiliation with Park Run is restricted due to the PCoSO population.
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 | 25 | 4 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 6 | 3 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 4 | 4 | — |
| Equality | 3 | 10 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 0 | 3 | |
| Food and kitchens | 0 | 4 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 17 | 9 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 10 | 6 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 15 | 9 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 17 | 13 | |
| Property within this establishment | 18 | 4 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 0 | 8 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 9 | 12 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 4 | 10 | |
| Transfers | 0 | 5 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 1
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Will the Minister commit to making the exemption for prison officers from the new visa extension salary requirement permanent? The current temporary exemption, which expires at the end of 2026, risks prolonged uncertainty for the workforce.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will HMPPS consider funding 24-hour on-site clinical cover at the Verne, provided by a nurse or paramedic? (See 6.5.2)
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 3
What steps will the Governor take to ensure a swift and lasting solution to the continuing problems with the clothes dryers on D wing? (See 5.1.5)
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 4
The Board recommends a rapid expansion of staffing and funding to ensure the prison’s delivery capacity can meet the need for safe and sustainable resettlement after release.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Other IMB Reports for The Verne
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
8 Jul 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 2
Release: 2
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.