Prison
Cat YOI, C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Swinfen Hall
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 8 October 2024
HMP Swinfen Hall failed to deliver anticipated improvements and meet rehabilitation objectives in the reporting year, largely due to severe staffing shortages impacting regime and purposeful activity. The Board remains seriously concerned about mental health provision, the inconsistent drug strategy, and the weak handling of prisoner applications. While some areas like healthcare access and chaplaincy were positive, overall outcomes for prisoners suffered due to insufficient staff confidence and inadequate regime delivery.
Positive Findings
The Board noted the Senior Leadership Team's positive approach to improving prison culture and commended the robust review process for use of force incidents. Healthcare provision and the chaplaincy staff received positive feedback for their responsiveness and support. Additionally, efforts to resolve previous property handling delays and improve the drug strategy were welcomed, as was the effective support for Category D applications.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Staffing issues have severely restricted the regime across the reporting year. This includes high levels of sickness/absence and an increasing number of newly appointed and inexperienced staff.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison failed to deliver the improved outcomes anticipated for prisoners in the last 12 months. Consequently, the prison has failed to meet its primary rehabilitation objectives in the year.
Safety
Repeated
More focus is needed to either resolve the self-isolation or move these prisoners to a fresh start elsewhere. These prisoners are still very vulnerable and are, potentially, open to serious abuse, harm, exploitation and deteriorating mental health.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Also concerning is the number (usually five or less) of prisoners who are wing-restricted and who consequently make little or no progress, remaining wing-restricted for many months.
Complaints/Property
The management of, and response to, prisoner applications to the prison raising a wide range of issues remain weak and unaccountable. The timeliness and quality of responses to prisoners are not monitored effectively.
Staffing
Too many staff lack confidence in enforcing basic standards and do not consistently challenge low-level prisoners’ poor behaviour.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The new core day regime offers too little time out of cell, especially for the unemployed. There were insufficient enrichment activities with which to engage prisoners.
Mental Health
The Board continues to have serious concerns over the availability of appropriate mental health support for those in need, who should be placed in NHS secure mental health units.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
There remains a backlog of outstanding OaSys initial assessments (which are used to gauge the risks and needs of a prisoner), and the population is significantly complex, with 83% of cases being high or very high risk.
Substance Misuse
Mandatory drug tests did not take place in January or February at all and only commenced in late March... Drug strategy to tackle ingress is a weakness remains a serious concern, in the Board’s view.
Estate/Conditions
Cleanliness and the ability to handle waste in residential areas has been satisfactory on some wings but very poor in other wings, especially the two larger wings (F and G).
Other
There remains a concern about the increasing issues of property lost on transfer between establishments, as evidenced by the number of applications (prisoners’ written submissions to the IMB) increasing from six last year to 22 during the reporting year.
Safety
The process to identify prisoners in need (not fully engaged in the regime on wing) is not always sufficiently robust or timely.
Safety
Newly installed CCTV not functioning on installation prevented investigation of assault on wings.
Other
There were still multiple examples of the prison making promises to Board members to address issues, which were found not to have been delivered when followed up.
Healthcare
Prisoners on a hospital waiting list in another part of the country are penalised when moving into Swinfen Hall, as they must then join a new waiting list at a hospital in the area.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned that, as Swinfen Hall expects to release up to 80 prisoners directly to the community in the next year, more will be released with no fixed abode.
Resettlement/Release
Many care leavers aged between 18 and 21 (who are, or should be) subject to pathway plans do not receive the support they are entitled to from the local authority.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing issues, including high sickness rates and an influx of inexperienced personnel, severely restricted the prison regime and the delivery of key worker sessions. Many newly appointed staff lacked the confidence and experience to effectively manage young offenders, leading to concerns about rule enforcement and consistent challenging of poor behaviour.
Healthcare
While other aspects of healthcare are generally satisfactory with good access to urgent care, the Board remains seriously concerned about the availability of appropriate mental health support and transfers to secure NHS units. Persistent issues with the out-of-hours GP service are also noted, alongside the disadvantage faced by prisoners who must rejoin new hospital waiting lists upon transfer.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison's regime has been severely restricted due to staffing shortages, leading to insufficient time out of cell, particularly for unemployed prisoners, and a lack of enrichment activities. Frequent wing closures, especially on weekends, have become common, resulting in many prisoners spending excessive time confined to their cells and a high level of complaints about curtailed weekend association.
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 | 9 | 7 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 4 | 9 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 16 | 7 | |
| Equality | 0 | 0 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 6 | 14 | |
| Food and kitchens | 3 | 2 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 17 | 14 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 13 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous | 8 | 1 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 22 | 6 | |
| Property within the establishment | 38 | 37 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 33 | 20 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 13 | 23 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 29 | 22 | |
| Transfers | 33 | 26 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 3
Recommendation 1
Can the Minister instruct the Ministry of Justice to implement a system to record the details of all children affected by parental imprisonment at the time of sentencing to assist prisons in providing prisoner family support?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
The HMPPS prison officer appointment process has resulted in some unsuitable appointments. Why are the Governing Governors not permitted to review the suitability of newly appointed band 3 staff prior to their starting the job at the prison?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 3
Why can staff who are completing their residential course prior to appointment to their prison not have their offer of employment withdrawn if, during the course or on completion, it is clear they do not have the capacity or suitability to take on the role of prison officer?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 4
Can HMPPS provide funding to support HMP Swinfen Hall with the release of prisoners, bearing in mind that the prison currently has no funding to support prisoners on release and some 80 prisoners are expected to be released directly from the prison in the coming year?
HMPPS
Resettlement