Prison
Cat B, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Nottingham
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 13 November 2024
HMP Nottingham, a Category B adult male and YOI establishment, has an operational capacity of 950. The reporting year saw increases in self-harm incidents (898), prisoner assaults (296), staff assaults (114), and use of force (760), with two deaths in custody. The Board raises concerns about restricted time out of cell, particularly for vulnerable prisoners, persistent healthcare staff shortages impacting provision, and insufficient capacity for mental health transfers. Positive developments include improved food quality, a new neurodiversity lead, and reduced IMB applications.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomes improvements in food quality and quantity, and a reduction in clothing shortages. Positive steps have been taken to support neurodiverse prisoners, including the addition of a neurodiversity lead. The Safety Team is responsive, and efforts to resolve issues at first opportunity have reduced applications to the Board. While healthcare staffing was challenging, it showed signs of improvement, and social video call issues were largely resolved.
Key Concerns
Safety
The number of prisoners coming through Reception places significant pressure on the processes intended to ensure the safety of prisoners who are arriving in the prison.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The number of prisoners who spend significant periods on remand or who have been convicted but are awaiting sentence continues to place pressure on the prison.
Safety
The number of assaults, both on prisoners and staff, has increased from the previous year, though the number of serious assaults has fallen slightly. The number of acts of self-harm has increased by more than a quarter from the previous year. There has been an increase in the Use of Force during the reporting year.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Time out of the cell is restricted for those prisoners not at work or in education, notably for the vulnerable prisoners housed on the induction wing due to a lack of capacity on the vulnerable prisoner wing. Time out of the cell on weekends is limited.
Staffing
Approximately thirty-eight per cent of the operational staff have less than two years of experience in their role.
Complaints/Property
Prisoners’ property frequently goes missing on transfer and prisoners find it difficult to resolve this satisfactorily. Prisoners find it difficult to resolve complaints related to other establishments satisfactorily, notably regarding property issues.
Staffing
the effectiveness of the key worker system has so far been limited.
Mental Health
Repeated
Healthcare staff shortages have impacted the availability of both physical and mental healthcare provision... The Board continues to have concerns about prisoners with significant mental health issues, for whom there is not sufficient appropriate provision. Again, there continues to be insufficient capacity for those who need to be transferred to more suitable establishments.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Attendance in education and work continues to be below capacity. Some prisoners are spending long periods on remand or awaiting sentence, inhibiting their ability to progress with their sentence.
Resettlement/Release
Capacity issues in the prison estate impact the ability of sentenced prisoners to be transferred to establishments which can enable them to progress in their sentences. Towards the end of the reporting year, early releases were impacting the ability of the prison to adequately put in place arrangements for prisoners on their release.
Resettlement/Release
Prisoners who are far from their local area due to capacity issues in the prison estate find it harder to have in-person visits. The Board has noted various problems associated with access to suitable video-calling facilities. This is in terms of both the technology and prisoner privacy in the video conferencing room.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Approximately 38% of operational staff have less than two years' experience, leading to additional training days that impact time out of cell. While there's an increased emphasis on key work, many prisoners are unsure of their key worker, and sessions are not always effective. Healthcare has faced staff shortages and a lack of leadership resilience, although this was improving by the end of the year. A lack of racial diversity among staff has also been observed.
Healthcare
Healthcare has suffered from staff shortages, impacting access to physical and mental health services, including GP and nurse appointments, although this improved towards the year-end. There's a persistent lack of suitable provision and transfer capacity for prisoners with severe mental health issues, some of whom are detained inappropriately in the CSU. Issues include late medication administration and poor communication with hospitals, though the complaints backlog has been addressed.
Regime & Daily Life
Time out of cell remains restricted, especially for vulnerable prisoners on the induction wing and on weekends, compounded by staff training days. Attendance in education and work is consistently below capacity, and there's a general lack of in-wing activities, such as unused pool tables. A new regime, set to introduce evening time out of cell, is anticipated next year, which may offer improvement.
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 | 20 | 36 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 3 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 6 | 13 | |
| Equality | 5 | 36 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 11 | 13 | |
| Food and kitchens | 17 | 8 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 52 | 52 | — |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 36 | 31 | |
| Miscellaneous | 21 | 35 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 16 | 13 | |
| Property within the establishment | 22 | 30 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 12 | 20 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 13 | 53 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 41 | 47 | |
| Transfers | 14 | 8 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 4
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
How does the Minister plan to work with colleagues across the Government to increase the provision of specialist secure mental health services for prisoners with serious mental health problems?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Will the Minister reconsider the decision to reject the House of Commons Justice Committee’s recommendation that remaining IPP prisoners should be re-sentenced and bring forward legislation to commute IPP sentences to determinate ones?
Ministry of Justice
Sentence Management
Recommendation 3
Will the Minister take measures to address the pressure on capacity across the prison estate and the churn of prisoners from the courts who are remanded or awaiting sentence?
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Recommendation 4
Will the Service consider what steps can be taken to locate prisoners close to family or those with whom they have supportive ties? The increased churn places strain on prison resources and impacts the ability to offer meaningful education and employment.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Again, the Board raises its continuing concern about prisoners who are seriously mentally unwell being held in prison and frequently having to be detained in the Care and Separation Unit. Prison is not the appropriate environment for prisoners who are severely mentally unwell. We again ask for greater provision to be made available for such prisoners so they can be transferred to suitable secure accommodation.
HMPPS
Mental Health
Recommendation 6
To address with the health care provider the continuing shortcomings in the service provided, in particular the staff shortages and the lack of a deputy.
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 7
To consider what further steps can be taken to address the increase in self-harm.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 8
To consider what improvements can be made to increase purposeful activity/time out of cell, particularly for VPs housed on the induction wing.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
Will the governor consider measures to improve the transparency and objectivity of the Incentive and Earned Privileges (IEP) process and system to provide prisoners with greater clarity and confidence in the scheme?
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Nottingham
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
13 May 2024
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.