Prison
Cat D open resettlement prison for men
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
North Sea Camp
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 4 October 2024
HMP North Sea Camp generally provides a safe and humane environment, with a strong emphasis on humane treatment and a wide range of release preparation programs. Positive developments include improved facilities management, a proactive safer community team, and good healthcare services that receive positive feedback from prisoners. Key concerns include persistent delays in offender management paperwork, the unresolved situation for IPP prisoners, and poor accommodation standards with no plans for replacement or conversion of dormitories. Additionally, issues with prisoner property transfers, lack of on-site end-of-life care, and difficulties for disabled prisoners accessing resettlement opportunities remain.
Positive Findings
The IMB is satisfied that HMP North Sea Camp generally provides a safe environment for prisoners and provides humane and just treatment. Overall, prisoners are treated fairly and with respect, with continuing efforts to improve cleanliness and appearance. The prison also provides a wide-ranging and adequate level of programmes to prepare men for release. Staff attitudes in the Offender Management Unit have improved, and facilities management by Amey has seen improvements, including bathroom and kitchen refurbishments.
The safer community team is proactive in enhancing safety and wellbeing, and the reception and induction process works well, with individual attention for new arrivals. The Listener scheme continues to provide valuable support, and ACCT documents are correctly completed. The CSIP approach has been developed to identify and manage challenging behaviours, and staff-prisoner relationships are generally positive. The Board is satisfied that prisoners are treated equally, and a full-time neurodiversity support manager has been employed. The chaplaincy department provides excellent pastoral care, and catering facilities maintain a high standard with a 5-star food hygiene rating. Healthcare services are largely complimentary, with a CQC visit finding no breaches and 88% of prisoners reporting good or very good services. The mental health team is well-motivated and provides a good range of interventions, while social care provision is satisfactory. The gymnasium is well-equipped and popular, and 'We Are With You' provides a good service for addiction problems. The education department shows successful adaptation of functional skills delivery, with significant increases in achievement rates, and 50 Coracle laptops have been acquired for learning. Reading support has been embedded across the establishment, and the library is well-run, offering diverse services. An increased number of prisoners work for external employers and gain vocational qualifications, supported by a functioning employment hub. The OMU benefits from strong leadership and an experienced, approachable team.
Key Concerns
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Whilst this was addressed after last year’s annual report, there are still some apparent delays with community offender managers often taking a long time to update their part of the offender assessment system (OASys) risk assessment paperwork to enable prisoners to sit release on temporary transfer (ROTL) boards.
Other
Repeated
Whilst there has been a lot of publicity and dialogue around IPP prisoners, no tangible progress has seen to be made. Since the abolition of IPP on 1 May 2012, prisoners still remain subject to an IPP sentence.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
To maintain family ties, consideration should be given to providing in-cell telephony. Prisoners often arrive from previous establishments where this is readily available, sometimes alongside restricted PC access.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The quality of some of the accommodation is poor and the space allocated to prisoners sharing rooms is not ideal. It was good to see the decommissioning of the two-storey ageing accommodation units. However, the Board is concerned that, as yet, there appears to be no plan to replace them.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Budget needs to be allocated to convert the dormitories (which house four to six prisoners) to smaller rooms so that, when HMP North Sea Camp is at full capacity, no prisoners will have to share with more than one other person.
Other
Repeated
There continues to be a problem with a prisoner’s property not always arriving in its entirety on the completion of transfer. Prisoners face a long wait for their property to come and often it does not arrive at all.
Healthcare
There is no facility within HMP North Sea Camp where prisoners can be suitably cared for during an end-of-life period, as there are no on-site residential healthcare facilities. This means that prisoners who have chronic and other serious health issues stay on the units within the prison, surrounded by other prisoners and the usual activities of everyday prison life.
Equality/Diversity
Prisoners who use wheelchairs can experience difficulties travelling to, and getting, overnight accommodation at approved premises (APs) when going on resettlement overnight release (ROR). This can delay their release on temporary licence (ROTL) programme and have a significant delaying effect on their sentence plan and parole board hearings.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Healthcare staffing levels are fairly good, with three vacancies currently waiting to be filled. The reception team has an additional staff officer, which helps ensure individual attention for new arrivals. The Offender Management Unit (OMU) benefits from strong leadership at a senior level and has a full complement of staff, though recruitment for a 0.5 WTE senior officer is underway. The Board has observed that relationships between staff and prisoners continue to be generally positive and supportive, with probation staff in the OMU being approachable and client-focused.
Healthcare
Healthcare at HMP North Sea Camp is provided by Nottinghamshire NHS Foundation Trust, with staffing levels described as fairly good despite three vacancies. Most prisoners are complimentary about the services, and an unannounced CQC visit found no breaches, with 88% of prisoners reporting good or very good care. There is no on-site in-patient healthcare provision. A GP visits twice a week, supplemented by weekly online surgeries. Dental services have improved significantly with a permanent, fully equipped dental van operating four days a week. The mental health team, comprising three full-time nurses (one vacancy), provides daily triage and a range of interventions, with prisoners reporting positive experiences.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners are expected to be engaged in meaningful activities, primarily paid work, throughout the day, and spend minimal time in their rooms (11pm-5am). The gymnasium is a popular and well-equipped venue, with enthusiastic staff providing various exercise regimes. During good weather, the large playing fields are well-used for sport and outdoor activities. As an open prison, there are ample opportunities for prisoners to walk around the estate, converse, and interact with staff and other prisoners. A significant 86% of prisoners are in full-time employment, either within the prison or in the community.
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 | 5 | 10 | |
| Food | 4 | 12 | |
| Healthcare | 35 | 58 | |
| Legal | 24 | 14 | |
| Offender Management | 13 | 11 | |
| Other | 33 | 31 | |
| Property | 37 | 56 | |
| Regime | 25 | 18 | |
| Security | 3 | 4 | |
| Segregation | 0 | 0 | |
| Staff conduct | 23 | 25 | |
| Visits | 10 | 18 |
Recommendations (8)
Governor / Director: 2
HMPPS: 6
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board recommends that the Governor continues to work with, and support, the IPP community at North Sea Camp.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 2
The Board recommends that the Governor facilitates working with temporary presumptive re-categorisation scheme (TPRS) prisoners and minimising the potential detrimental effects on the regime.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Whilst this was addressed after last year’s annual report, there are still some apparent delays with community offender managers often taking a long time to update their part of the offender assessment system (OASys) risk assessment paperwork to enable prisoners to sit release on temporary transfer (ROTL) boards.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Response
For brevity, please click on this link to the IMB website to see the Minister’s response (second and third paragraphs).
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Whilst there has been a lot of publicity and dialogue around IPP prisoners, no tangible progress has seen to be made. Since the abolition of IPP on 1 May 2012, prisoners still remain subject to an IPP sentence.
HMPPS
Other
Response
For brevity, please click on this link to the IMB website to see the Minister’s response (fourth and fifth paragraphs).
Recommendation 5
To maintain family ties, consideration should be given to providing in-cell telephony. Prisoners often arrive from previous establishments where this is readily available, sometimes alongside restricted PC access.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The quality of some of the accommodation is poor and the space allocated to prisoners sharing rooms is not ideal. It was good to see the decommissioning of the two-storey ageing accommodation units. However, the Board is concerned that, as yet, there appears to be no plan to replace them.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
Prisoner accommodation: HMPPS recognises that the rooms are not large enough for two tables. However, prisoners are not constrained to their rooms and the regime is structured so that comparatively little time is spent there. Occupancy rates at HMP North Sea Camp have increased significantly since March 2023, but the prison’s capacity remains equal to the Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) level originally certified by the Prison Group Director (PGD). CNA, or uncrowded capacity, is HMPPS’ own measure of accommodation. It represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that HMPPS aspires to provide all prisoners. Cells are only shared where a PGD (prison group director) has assessed them to be decent and of an adequate size and condition. In open prisons, there is a clear expectation that prisoners will spend significant amounts of time unlocked from their cell, either occupying communal areas or working outside of the prison. This should further mitigate any issues concerning decency that are linked to cell size specifically. At HMP North Sea Camp, prisoners are only expected to be in their rooms between 11pm and 5am, which allows minimal time in their rooms. A significant number of prisoners at the prison (86%) are in full-time employment, that is, normal prison work and shift work in the community. Of the remaining 14%, 4% are new receptions engaged in the induction process and 10% are retired, who are encouraged to participate in numerous purposeful activities throughout the day to keep them occupied and out of the rooms. Work activities encourage people to make the most of the 300 acres of this resettlement establishment.
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Budget needs to be allocated to convert the dormitories (which house four to six prisoners) to smaller rooms so that, when HMP North Sea Camp is at full capacity, no prisoners will have to share with more than one other person.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
Accommodation investment: At this time, there is no budget allocated to converting the dormitories to smaller rooms. A Small-Scale Investments team is commissioning a feasibility study on the options available to refurbish various buildings. This includes erecting partition walls in three dormitory rooms located in South Units 1 and 2 to create seven double-occupancy rooms.
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
There continues to be a problem with a prisoner’s property not always arriving in its entirety on the completion of transfer. Prisoners face a long wait for their property to come and often it does not arrive at all.
HMPPS
Other
Response
Prisoners’ property: HMPPS notes the Board’s concerns about the transfer of prisoners’ property, despite implementation of the new Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework on 5 September 2022. The Framework introduced a new requirement that prisons must transfer excess property within four weeks, unless there are exceptional circumstances that make this impossible. To avoid the problem of delays altogether, the framework places an emphasis on ensuring compliance with volumetric control limits, since anything within these limits will be transferred with the prisoner. HMPPS will monitor the impact of the framework going forward and will continue to look at what further improvements can be made. The introduction of the digitally recorded Prisoner Escort Records (PER) by Prison Escorting and Custody Services (PECS) includes a property section that accurately records the number and type of sealed property ‘owned’ by and transferred with the prisoner and an accurate record of property handover between different stakeholders. This is now embedded as business as usual. The digital process has assisted with investigations for property that is lost in transit with PECS suppliers. PECS also applies commercial levers to hold the supplier to account when it is contractually required in line with the contract.
Other IMB Reports for North Sea Camp
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
22 May 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 3
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.