Prison
Cat D, Open, Resettlement, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Sudbury
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 8 November 2024
HMP/YOI Sudbury, an open Category D resettlement prison, ended its reporting year with 507 prisoners. The report notes no deaths in custody and low self-harm incidents but highlights recurring concerns regarding the poor standard of dormitory accommodation and significant issues with prisoner property loss on transfer. While commendations are made for effective resettlement programs and improved complaint responses, the Board calls for improvements in digital connectivity, broader activity provision, and more consistent staff contact, particularly for new arrivals.
Positive Findings
The report highlights several positives, including no deaths in custody and very low self-harm incidents, alongside effective responses to prisoner complaints and strong healthcare provision for individual complex cases. The Board commends the positive engagement by education staff and the resettlement teams' success in securing outwork employment. Diversity and inclusion initiatives, including specific cohort support and effective COMCIL meetings, also foster a positive atmosphere within the prison.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Poor standard of dormitory accommodation remains an issue.
Food/Catering
Insufficient provision of kitchen appliances on dormitories and, in particular, a lack of halal-specific microwaves.
Staffing
Repeated
Some prisoners report a lack of sufficient support in adjusting to open conditions on transfer into the prison which, perhaps, links to concerns also raised about some lack of contact with initial point of contact (IPOC) officers.
Other
Repeated
Loss of prisoner property on transfer remains a significant source of prisoner concern.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Very little progress in improving connectivity to support prisoners’ learning.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Ingress of illicit items remains a challenge, given the number of prisoners undertaking daily employment off site, but some prisoners have cited the availability of drugs as a reason to request transfer back to closed conditions.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Continued late arrivals of prisoners after usual working hours continues to be an issue.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Some prisoners perceive there to be inconsistencies between the OMU staff, in terms of processing ROTL applications, but also acknowledges the recent changes to the systems in use and the appointment of additional management in the area. An ongoing concern raised by prisoners is the lack of regular communication between them and the staff processing their applications.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The Board has experienced comments from some prisoners about the lack of activity for them to engage in outside usual working hours and notes that some work to address this has been begun. What timescale is in place to introduce activities that prisoners can access in their downtime and what will be done to expand the range of these activities to broaden the prisoner experience?
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
When will the education and training offer be broadened and refreshed to better reflect the range of employment opportunities now available in the community?
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff-prisoner relations are generally good, but some prisoners feel a lack of support adjusting to open conditions and experience insufficient contact with Initial Point of Contact (IPOC) officers. Staffing issues have limited activity provision, and the Offender Management Unit (OMU) has been under increased pressure due to early release schemes. Healthcare staffing also faced increased demands, with a funding bid for additional staff being unsuccessful.
Healthcare
Healthcare, provided by Practice Plus Group, effectively managed an increased workload due to early release schemes and provided excellent care for a terminally ill prisoner. While GP waiting times average three weeks and dental/physiotherapy lists have long waits, the mental health team is fully staffed, and psychologist support is now available weekly, addressing a previous concern. The number of prisoners with complex mental health needs has increased.
Regime & Daily Life
Sudbury, as an open prison, allows many prisoners to work off-site daily, facilitating resettlement. However, many find adjusting to the self-reliance required challenging, and there is a significant lack of organised activities outside of usual working hours, leading to boredom. While the incentives scheme effectively manages behavior, the range of recreational activities remains limited, and efforts to diversify them beyond existing interests are ongoing.
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 | |
| Discrimination | 2 | 1 | |
| Finance/property | 21 | 21 | — |
| Food/canteen | 4 | 5 | |
| Healthcare | 0 | 1 | |
| Legal | 10 | 13 | |
| Offender management | 15 | 16 | |
| Other | 13 | 12 | |
| Staff conduct | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 118 | 114 | |
| Work/pay/activities | 7 | 5 |
Recommendations (10)
Other: 2
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 4
10 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
When will sufficient resources be made available to ensure that the poor-quality dormitory accommodation at Sudbury can be significantly upgraded or replaced?
Other
(minister)
Estate
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will it be possible to support the essential resettlement commitment to prisoners at Sudbury in terms of providing resources for improvements in technical connectivity such as they will be required to use in the community on release?
Other
(minister)
Resettlement
Response
Governor to continue to ensure prisoners attain Levels 1 and 2 English and Maths.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Opportunities for resettlement activities remain compromised by lack of connectivity affecting Wi-fi availability. When will this be addressed?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Response
Governor to continue to ensure prisoners attain Levels 1 and 2 English and Maths.
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Continued late arrivals of prisoners after usual working hours continues to be an issue. How does the Prison Service plan to encourage prisoner escort contractors to improve this situation?
HMPPS
Regime
Response
Monitoring of prisoner escort contractor services.
Recommendation 5
Repeated
As is usual in the IMB’s annual report, we comment this year on the continuing poor standard of dormitory accommodation for prisoners. What will the Prison Service do to improve the lived experience of prisoners at Sudbury in this respect?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Another recurring theme of IMB reports is the issue of prisoner property being mislaid or not supplied at all on transfer into Sudbury. How will the Prison Service improve this situation?
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board has continued to note that some prisoners perceive there to be inconsistencies between the OMU staff, in terms of processing ROTL applications, but also acknowledges the recent changes to the systems in use and the appointment of additional management in the area. An ongoing concern raised by prisoners is the lack of regular communication between them and the staff processing their applications. What will you do to address this issue?
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Response
Head of offender management delivery’s weekly review of overdue applications. Data base tracker to track due dates. More staff trained to reduce backlog. The appointment of an additional senior leader in the offender management unit (OMU) area is acknowledged.
Recommendation 8
Repeated
The Board has experienced comments from some prisoners about the lack of activity for them to engage in outside usual working hours and notes that some work to address this has been begun. What timescale is in place to introduce activities that prisoners can access in their downtime and what will be done to expand the range of these activities to broaden the prisoner experience?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
Repeated
It has been observed in previous IMB reports that some prisoners say that they either do not know who their IPOC officer is or have little contact with them. How will you improve the delivery of the IPOC system to ensure that prisoners have regular contact with their IPOC officer?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the education and training offer be broadened and refreshed to better reflect the range of employment opportunities now available in the community?
Governor / Director
Education
Response
Governor to continue to ensure prisoners attain Levels 1 and 2 English and Maths.
Other IMB Reports for Sudbury
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.