Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Guys Marsh
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 11 April 2025
HMP Guys Marsh experienced a challenging reporting year marked by a significant rise in self-harm and assaults, exacerbated by staff shortages that led to a three-month restricted regime. The ingress of illicit items remained a persistent concern, and the prisoner complaints system broke down mid-year. While positive developments included an award-winning healthcare service and new prisoner incentives, the poor state of the older wings and high offender manager caseloads continue to hinder rehabilitation and decent conditions.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the Governor’s empathetic approach in all three deaths in custody and the dedication of the Safer Communities Team. Staff performance in managing planned use of force and the compassionate attitude of induction wing staff were noted as positive. The healthcare unit received an annual recognition award for excellence, and mental health service delivery improved significantly. The Governor also introduced significant improvements in prisoner pay, employment incentives, and evening association for enhanced prisoners, which were well received.
Key Concerns
Safety
Repeated
A very significant rise in cases of self-harm, especially when prisoners were deprived of a regular regime due to staff shortages.
Safety
A raised level of prisoner-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-staff assaults throughout the year.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Illicit items, including drugs, mobile phones, and weapons, continued to enter the prison despite staff efforts.
Complaints/Property
The complaints process broke down mid-year and was not effectively restored until the end of the reporting period.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The dirty and decrepit fabric of the older wings affected decency levels, with maintenance and repairs taking too long to complete.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Education, vocational training, and all but essential work were suspended for three months due to a restricted regime and staff shortages, frustrating prisoners' rehabilitative progress.
Resettlement/Release
Prison offender managers complained that their caseloads were too high.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff shortages, particularly amongst custodial managers and supervising officers, led to a three-month restricted regime, impacting safety and purposeful activity. A significant number of officers were inexperienced, and the Board noted a lack of continuous professional development and leadership training. Concerns about staff bullying of prisoners led to suspensions and dismissals. An effective key worker system was partially restored, and a cohort of 32 Commonwealth prison officers arrived, though offender manager caseloads remained high.
Healthcare
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust provided healthcare, receiving an award for excellence and maintaining stable staffing, with effective communication with the SMT. While urgent mental health service delivery improved, GP waiting times averaged 56 days and dental waiting times 53 days. Medical alerts and incidents of prisoners under the influence remained high. A significant number of prisoners failed to attend appointments, impacting waiting times. Concerns persist regarding the public dispensing of medications for substance misuse.
Regime & Daily Life
A three-month restricted regime due to staff shortages suspended most purposeful activity, leading to prisoner frustration, increased violence, and self-harm. Under a new core day in November, prisoners received approximately 3.5 hours out of cell on weekdays, extending to 5.5 hours at weekends. Prisoners not engaged in education or work were locked up during the day. Initiatives like evening association for enhanced prisoners and a new evening gym program were introduced to improve daily life.
Recommendations (10)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 7
Governor / Director: 1
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
The process for the assessment, selection and induction training of prison officers, coupled with an absence of continuous professional development and any kind of meaningful appraisal system, suggests that prison officers and senior management will continue to struggle with the increasing demands made of them in overcrowded and increasingly dangerous prisons. When will the Minister order an urgent review of the career management of frontline prison staff?
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 2
HMPPS’s stated priority is ‘to deliver the Government’s vision and investment’3. What is the vision that HMPPS is to deliver?
Ministry of Justice
Other
Recommendation 3
At present, no career development blueprint exists for prison staff. When will the Prison Service invest in continuous professional development for prison staff, including much-needed leadership training for supervising officers, custodial managers and senior managers, to raise effectiveness and maintain morale among the rank-and-file prison officers?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 4
In the outside community, mobile phone customers have been paying for their calls and data via a ‘plan’ for many years. Yet in prison, prisoners are still charged by the minute and for calls to mobiles the cost is considerable. Why does the Prison Service retain this outdated and expensive system?
HMPPS
Respect
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Despite HMPPS’ stated priorities to ‘make prisons places of safety’ and to ‘… provide a safe and supportive environment…’3, the increased number of deliveries of illicit items and larger (7kg) drone payloads rendered HMP Guys Marsh less safe in 2024-2025 for both prisoners and staff, in the Board’s view. When will effective action be taken to counter this threat?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the Prison Service address the worsening state of repair of HMP Guys Marsh, particularly the older residential wings, so that the less than satisfactory living conditions experienced by prisoners are improved?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 7
The removal of razors from prisons is a welcome step in the fight against self-harm. When will the Prison Service introduce other measures to curb this distressing practice?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 8
The rise in assaults on prison staff and the worrying increase in the poor treatment of prisoners by some prison officers suggests a failure in the process of assessment, selection and training of officers. When will the Prison Service take action to address these shortcomings?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 9
The caseload for prison offender managers has increased, to the detriment of prisoners on standard determinate sentences (SDS). Given that it takes time to train an prison offender manager to the required standard, what more immediate steps are being taken to improve this situation?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The problems with heating have troubled the prison and its prisoners for over a year, notwithstanding the installation of temporary generators, which do not service the whole prison. What action will be taken to address the ongoing problems with - and the delays in - maintenance and repairs?
Governor / Director
Estate