Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
High Down
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 20 May 2025
HMP High Down, a Category C prison, faces significant challenges with safety, regime, and healthcare, despite some positive developments. Key concerns include the treatment of acutely mentally unwell prisoners, high levels of illicit items, and extensive regime restrictions. Staffing shortages and persistent issues with accommodation and food quality continue to impact the humane treatment of prisoners, many of whom also face accessibility barriers.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomes the strong maintenance of family contact, the positive use of therapy dogs, and improved healthcare waiting times. The creation of a retired prisoners' day room and the restart of the Storybook Dads programme are also positive developments. Improvements in education attendance and the provision of work/education for PCoSO prisoners are noted, as is the good practice observed in the main kitchen and efforts to reduce long segregation placements.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
Acutely mentally unwell prisoners continue to be held in the CSRU for long periods of time, despite failing the medical algorithm, and average wait times for mental health transfers have increased.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
A huge increase in drone incursions has led to an overwhelming presence of illicit items within the establishment, with over 30% of random drug tests proving positive.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Many prisoners spend up to 15 hours locked in their cells due to evening association frequently being cancelled, and full-time workers do not always have time to access regime.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
On arrival, prisoners often find that cells are not clean and are missing essential items, houseblock serveries are frequently left in an unhygienic state, and there is inconsistent monitoring of portion control for food.
Staffing
Repeated
The Offender Management Unit (OMU) remains understaffed, resulting in large caseloads, and prisoners are often unable to access offender behaviour courses until the last 12 months of their sentence.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
There are a number of issues with accessibility, including broken lifts and a lack of access ramps for prisoners with mobility issues, and a rise in older prisoners has created additional social care and health concerns.
Safety
There continues to be a disproportionate number of self-harm incidents among IPP and recall prisoners, and concerns remain regarding cell bell response times and observation during Constant Watch.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff cross-deployment due to late transfers impacts evening regime for other prisoners. The Offender Management Unit remains significantly understaffed, leading to heavy caseloads and additional pressure from early release schemes. The rise in older prisoners requiring bed watches further strains staffing levels. Key worker sessions are frequently cancelled due to officer redeployment, although there was an increase towards the end of the year.
Healthcare
The Board remains concerned about the increasing average wait times for prisoners approved for transfer to secure mental hospitals, and the unacceptable conditions in which acutely mentally unwell prisoners are held in the CSRU. Many prisoners reported issues accessing healthcare, and a significant number of appointments are missed due to unlocking/escort failures. The rise in older prisoners has created additional social care and health needs, including palliative care, raising concerns about humane end-of-life provision.
Regime & Daily Life
Frequent cancellations of evening association lead to most prisoners spending up to 15 hours locked in their cells. Full-time workers often do not get access to regime upon returning from work before lock-up. Poor communication regarding regime changes causes significant frustration among prisoners, with 61% describing it as very poor. Late arrival of transfer vans disrupts routines and leads to cross-deployment of staff, further impacting regime.
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 | |
| Diversity and inclusion | 28 | 50 | |
| Faith | 25 | 22 | |
| Food | 36 | 37 | |
| Healthcare | 159 | 218 | |
| IMB complaints | 24 | 17 | |
| Legal | 17 | 15 | |
| Offender Management Unit (OMU) | 49 | 51 | |
| Other | 33 | 48 | |
| Property | 119 | 157 | |
| Punishment | 5 | 7 | |
| Respect | 64 | 96 | |
| Segregation | 23 | 19 | |
| Staff behaviour | 16 | 23 | |
| Telephones | 9 | 12 | |
| Uncategorised | 16 | 24 | |
| Visits | 37 | 31 | |
| Work/education | 38 | 39 |
Recommendations (12)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 4
7 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Government should improve outcomes for mentally unwell prisoners in detention, addressing the issue of them being held in the CSRU for long periods despite failing the medical algorithm.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 5.2).
Recommendation 2
The Government should address the physical needs of the ageing prison population, including social care provision, accessibility, purposeful activity for retired prisoners and end of life care.
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Government should better support probation staff within prisons to address the additional pressure on under-resourced OMUs from government initiatives.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Response
There has been some improvement in this area (see section 7.3).
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Government should tackle the increase in drone activity as a means of ingress of illicit items into prisons.
Ministry of Justice
Substance Misuse
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 4.5).
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Prison Service should ensure that prisoners with mobility issues have full access to services and regimes, given the lack of access ramps and working lifts.
HMPPS
Equality
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 5.1).
Recommendation 6
The Prison Service should tackle ongoing issues of violence within prisons.
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 7
The Prison Service should bring prisoner wages into line with other category C establishments.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 8
The Prison Service should enable those with long sentences to make progress with their sentence plans before the last 12 months of their sentence.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 9
The Governor should improve communication with prisoners, particularly with regards to regime changes.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Governor should ensure that full-time workers get access to regime when they get back to the houseblocks after work.
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 6.5)
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Governor should improve hygiene standards in houseblock serveries.
Governor / Director
Food
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 5.1)
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Governor should ensure that property does not go missing when prisoners move cells within the prison.
Governor / Director
Other
Response
The Board remains concerned about this issue (see section 5.8)
Other IMB Reports for High Down
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
31 Jul 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 2
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.