Prison
Cat B, training
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Dovegate
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 4 March 2025
HMP Dovegate, a privately run Category B training prison for men aged 21 and over, operated at or near its 1160 operational capacity during the reporting year. The Board observed generally calm wings with good staff-prisoner relationships and commended improvements in education. Key concerns include three deaths in custody, long healthcare and mental health transfer waiting times, persistent issues with lost property during transfers, and regime restrictions due to tight staffing levels exacerbated by a more complex prisoner population.
Positive Findings
The Board observed wings to be generally calm and settled, with good relationships between prisoners and staff, contributing to a safe environment for visitors. The buildings are well-maintained, and the prison's complaints system is efficiently run. Significant improvements have been noted in education, with attendance increasing and vocational programmes now rated 'good'. The Therapeutic Community (TC) unit maintains a calm environment with low self-harm and violence, is well-audited, and provides full education provision.
Key Concerns
Safety
Three deaths in custody occurred during the reporting year, one of which was, apparently, self-inflicted.
Mental Health
The increasing number of prisoners with serious and complex mental health issues creates a challenge for both the healthcare department and the CSU on where to locate prisoners and how to deal with their challenging and often violent behaviour.
Mental Health
Repeated
Prisoners with serious mental health issues have a lengthy wait for transfer to a secure mental health unit. During that time, their mental health continues to deteriorate and they continue to exhibit violent behaviour that impacts on other prisoners and staff.
Healthcare
Waiting times for healthcare appointments are long, in the Board’s view, which combined with appointment cancellations, for various reasons, ensures that prisoners believe it to be an issue.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Property lost between prisoners is still an major issue. Will the Prison Service consider moving to digital property cards in all prisons and photographic records for all items?
Staffing
Staffing levels have been tight over the year, which has resulted in regimes being cut back.
Mental Health
Repeated
The number of secure mental health spaces available is not adequate for the number of seriously mentally ill prisoners. The length of time prisoners wait for a space in these units and the number of people they assault in this time is significant.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels have been tight throughout the year, leading to restrictions on the regime. There is a high number of new staff, resulting in a wide variation of experience levels across the complement. Recruitment for clinical staff, particularly within mental health, is ongoing and agency staff are regularly needed. Key work activities are well-monitored and recorded, and the Board requests the Director to continue inspiring new staff with visible senior management presence on the wings.
Healthcare
Waiting times for healthcare appointments, including for GPs, continue to be lengthy, and frequent appointment cancellations frustrate prisoners. While dental waiting times have improved with the appointment of a new full-time dentist, mental health provision remains challenging. The prison faces an increasing number of prisoners with serious and complex mental health issues, and there is no dedicated mental health provision in the inpatient unit, which admitted 86 patients, many for mental health reasons. Seriously mentally ill prisoners face lengthy waits for transfer to secure mental health units, which the Board notes leads to deterioration in their mental state and violent behaviour.
Regime & Daily Life
While time out of cell is generally good, staffing pressures, especially during holiday periods, have led to restrictions on activities and exercise times. When restrictions are necessary, the regime is adjusted fairly and communicated promptly to prisoners. There is a lack of interest from external companies to provide meaningful work opportunities or clear pathways to paid employment on release, which impacts purposeful activity within the prison. The Board hopes for continued improvements in the availability of meaningful work in industrial units.
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 | 3 | 12 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 1 | 1 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 7 | 5 | |
| Equality | 3 | 2 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 4 | 15 | |
| Food and kitchens | 4 | 3 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 23 | 34 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 9 | 19 | |
| Miscellaneous | 5 | 2 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 13 | 21 | |
| Property within the establishment | 15 | 28 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 27 | 5 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 11 | 16 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 7 | 14 | |
| Transfers | 0 | 1 |
Recommendations (8)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The number of secure mental health spaces available is not adequate for the number of seriously mentally ill prisoners. The length of time prisoners wait for a space in these units and the number of people they assault in this time is significant. When and how will the Minister address this urgent issue?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
There is not enough interest from companies to work with HMP Dovegate in relation to creating a clear path into paid employment on release, or purposeful activity while in prison. Will the Minister consider creating a corporate responsibility initiative/subsidy that encourages companies to work with prisons to create work and career opportunities?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Property lost between prisoners is still an major issue. Will the Prison Service consider moving to digital property cards in all prisons and photographic records for all items?
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 4
Is there a way for property that is authorised in possession in one prison to be recorded, to allow a prisoner to retain the item following transfer to another prison?
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prison population pressures have not reduced in the last 12 months. Will the Prison Service consider remanding prisoners on tags rather than in prison.
HMPPS
Overcrowding
Recommendation 6
The Board requests the Director to continue to inspire new staff, with you and your senior management team being seen regularly on the wings.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 7
The Board observes the need for the Director maintain the stable environment in the CSU and credits the staff for their work in challenging situations.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 8
The Board recognises the improvements that have been made in education over the last 12 months and hopes this will continue, also improving the availability of meaningful work in the industrial units.
Governor / Director
Education
Other IMB Reports for Dovegate
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
18 Sep 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 3
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.