Prison
Cat B local YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Parc
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 10 September 2024
HMP/YOI Parc reported eleven deaths in custody and a substantial increase in illicit item finds during the reporting period. The Board noted significant issues with inadequate mental health provision, excessive waiting lists for appointments, and critical staffing shortages impacting key worker sessions, healthcare, and education. Concerns were also raised about the quality and quantity of food, ineffective complaints handling, and the anxiety experienced by IPP prisoners due to release uncertainty. Positively, self-harm and violence incidents saw significant reductions.
Positive Findings
The IMB commended the effective induction unit, noting Listeners' involvement as particularly supportive for first-time prisoners. They highlighted a substantial reduction in self-harm incidents and significantly reduced rates of violence, alongside a downward trend in use of force. The Board observed an excellent culture among staff in the segregation unit and noted the prison met its key worker effectiveness target for the first time. Prisoner-led initiatives enhanced staff-prisoner relationships, and a permanent media hub was opened with prisoner involvement. Substance misuse services were well-led and resourced, utilizing enthusiastic peer mentors, and industries provided various work opportunities. Positive family support, including a dedicated Family Interventions Unit, and resettlement efforts, such as arranging IDs and bank accounts for release, were also praised.
Key Concerns
Safety
Eleven deaths in custody occurred during the reporting period.
Substance Misuse
The quantity of illicit item finds showed a substantial increase from the previous reporting period, and there was an increase in failed mandatory drug tests.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Complaints about food were constant and raised concerns about both quality and quantity, requiring prisoners to supplement their food intake.
Mental Health
Mental health provision was inadequate, particularly surrounding ADHD assessments, with excessive waiting lists for appointments, insufficient nursing staff, and frequently excessive waiting times for emergency ambulances.
Staffing
The number of keyworkers employed was still lower than required, leading to prisoners complaining about a lack of contact, and the Offender Management Unit (OMU) was understaffed.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Education was frequently limited due to regime restrictions and challenges following the contract renewal, including a lack of preparedness from the new provider, Novus Gower.
Mental Health
Prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences experienced anxiety due to not knowing when they will be released.
Resettlement/Release
Issues persisted with inter-prison transfers where prisoners' property was not always transferred with them, despite a revised Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework.
Complaints/Property
The complaints system did not function effectively, with many complaints (700 identified) not receiving a response within required timescales, including for prisoners who had left the prison.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP/YOI Parc experienced staffing shortages across key worker, Offender Management Unit (OMU), and healthcare teams, leading to complaints about lack of contact and high caseloads. The number of keyworkers was below requirements, and the OMU was understaffed, with more experienced staff carrying a heavier burden. High turnover in nursing and a shortage of mental health staff further compounded existing stretched resources, though overtime was utilized to increase key worker session delivery where possible.
Healthcare
Healthcare at Parc faced significant challenges, including inadequate mental health provision, particularly regarding ADHD assessments, and excessive waiting lists for appointments. Staff shortages, especially in nursing and mental health, meant a focus on medication and acute needs, leading to long waits for patients with long-term conditions. Routine GP appointments were available within seven days, but waiting times for emergency ambulances were frequently excessive, and routine dental assessments had a waiting list of up to 18 months. Overall, mental health services lacked resources to address the high numbers of prisoners with pre-existing conditions, causing delayed assessment and treatment.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison's regime and time out of cell were mixed and inconsistent, primarily due to staffing difficulties and sickness impacting officer numbers. While some prisoners experienced up to 10.5 hours out of cell with evening association, unemployed prisoners or those not in education might only be out for one hour daily. Frequent regime restrictions also limited education provision and led to mixed regimes across wings. These inconsistencies were a direct consequence of ongoing staffing level challenges.
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 | 5 | 3 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 6 | 2 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 13 | 6 | |
| Equality | 8 | 7 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 11 | 7 | |
| Food and kitchens | 22 | 7 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 19 | 12 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 27 | 18 | |
| Miscellaneous | 27 | 15 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 23 | 11 | |
| Property within the establishment | 15 | 10 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 35 | 18 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 9 | 3 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 28 | 16 | |
| Transfers | 17 | 7 |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 2
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
Despite efforts by management and staff at Parc to support those prisoners serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, not knowing when they will be released is a cause of anxiety impacting on the mental health of those affected. We urge the Government to put in place a process where IPP prisoners’ sentences are reviewed, and a single sentence put in place that would provide clarity for prisoners to know when they would be released.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
There is a need to monitor and ensure that the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework is followed and monitored to ensure that prisoners’ property is always transferred with them.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Set a minimum spend per prisoner to ensure food supplied offers both quantity and quality along with nutritional value to satisfy prisoners’ calorific needs, as it is unreasonable that prisoners have to supplement their food intake by purchasing from the prison canteen.
HMPPS
Food
Recommendation 4
Ensure the complaints system functions and monitor that responses are received within the required time scales.
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Put in place a process whereby prisoners’ food is regularly assessed for nutritional value, calorific content, quality and quantity.
Governor / Director
Food