Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Onley
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 2 August 2024
HMP Onley is a Category C training and resettlement prison that faced challenges during the reporting year ending February 2024. While staffing levels for officers improved, this did not translate into increased key work activity or a consistently full regime. Key concerns include increased illicit substance availability and drone activity, a rise in prisoner-on-prisoner violence, and persistent issues with property transfers and poor cell/yard conditions. Healthcare saw some improvements in GP/dental wait times, but mental health and drug rehabilitation were affected by staff shortages.
Positive Findings
The Board commends HMP Onley for maintaining professional treatment for new arrivals and for the invaluable service provided by the multi-faith chaplaincy team. Significant improvements in healthcare include reduced GP and dental wait times, supported by new staff and patient engagement initiatives. Education provision shows high quality teaching (87.5% good or better) and 94% qualification success, with strong prisoner satisfaction. The employment hub is proactive in supporting resettlement, including employer events and new initiatives.
Key Concerns
Substance Misuse
Increased availability of illicit substances.
Safety
Increased drone activity.
Safety
Increase of incidents of violence between prisoners.
Safety
Increase in assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) documents.
Estate/Conditions
Poor condition of outside exercise yards.
Food/Catering
Concerns over food quantity and quality and menu choices.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Delays in property reaching prisoner when transferred to HMP Onley.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Poor condition of some cell windows.
Healthcare
Concerns over officer visibility during medication distribution and clinics.
Healthcare
Difficulties in the facilitation of hospital appointments by officers.
Substance Misuse
Limited drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Substance Misuse
Limited awareness among staff and officers of the HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) Prison Drugs Strategy.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Poor prisoner engagement in activities.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Inadequate number of workspaces for the prison population.
Staffing
Inadequate workplace instructors.
Resettlement/Release
Impact of the end of custody supervised (ECSL) scheme on pre-release planning.
Resettlement/Release
Backlogs in OASys (offender management system) completion and sentence planning.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels for prison officers significantly improved by year-end, with most vacancies filled, though some were still trainee officers. OSG vacancies remained. Staffing issues at the beginning of the year caused delays in induction and impacted key work delivery, with only 35% of prisoners receiving their recommended sessions. Mental health and drug/alcohol rehabilitation services were also affected by staffing shortages, leading to increased agency use.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision, run by Practice Plus Group, saw mixed fortunes. While an Advanced Nurse Practitioner reduced GP wait times and dental wait times improved to an average of 75 days, staffing challenges impacted mental health and substance misuse services, leading to increased agency use and a halt to psychosocial groups. Communication issues between wings and healthcare, officer visibility during medication, and the prison's inability to facilitate 14 hospital appointments remain concerns, contributing to an increase in overall healthcare complaints.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime at HMP Onley was significantly impacted by prison officer vacancies and regular lockdowns at the start of the reporting year, leading to only 30% of prisoners engaged in purposeful activity. Despite staffing improvements later in the year and a reintroduction of a full-time regime, many prisoners remained unoccupied, partly due to a lack of motivation. Key work delivery was inconsistent, with only 35% of prisoners receiving their full weekly sessions. Prisoner comments highlight concerns about being locked in cells for up to 22 hours a day, affecting mental health and access to fresh air.
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 | 7 | 10 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 9 | 8 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 3 | 3 | — |
| Equality | 0 | 0 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 7 | 3 | |
| Food and kitchens | 12 | 12 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 41 | 34 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 9 | 17 | |
| Miscellaneous | 93 | 87 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 58 | 107 | |
| Property within the establishment | 37 | 33 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 18 | 11 | |
| Sentence management, including home detention curfew (HDC), release on temporary licence (ROTL), parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 38 | 49 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 68 | 61 | |
| Transfers | 24 | 24 | — |
Recommendations (11)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 5
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
As the Board has stated in every annual report for many years, missing, mislaid and delayed prisoner property continues to be a problem, particularly on transfer between prisons. The aim of the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework is to improve the management of property, but this has not been met. The manual, paper-based system is error-prone and inefficient. It relies on the manual recording of tags on prisoner property. How does the Minister plan to use technology to drive a better outcome in this area for prisoners?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
We would, again, ask the Minister to address the ongoing situation in relation to IPP prisoners who are many years beyond their original minimum term and who face great uncertainty as to when they may be released or what they are required to do to become eligible for release.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The windows and frames across the establishment are in a poor condition. When will the Minister arrange for the windows to be replaced, as they are no longer fit for purpose, are an easy target for drone drops and endanger the ongoing security and stability of the establishment.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
The estates investment proposal has been approved. However, there are competing pressures, such as fire safety and life-saving projects, which are being prioritised. In the meantime, the original windows will continue to be maintained until a budget allocation is made available.
Recommendation 4
What additional support can be provided to reduce drone activity at HMP Onley?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
HMP Onley is a rehabilitation prison that should provide meaningful activity for all residents, but there are not enough workplace instructors. What additional support can be provided to recruit instructional staff?
HMPPS
Education
Response
HMP Onley recognises the importance of having workshops staffed to provide purposeful activity places for prisoners to learn skills and improve their opportunities to gain employment once released. Whilst the number of vacancies has reduced since the Board’s reporting period, the prison continues to advertise and recruit instructional officers to fill the remaining vacancies
Recommendation 6
The Board’s view is that the population management unit (PMU) is ineffective. There were instances when prisoners transferred to HMP Onley could not be offered an appropriate intervention or course suited to their needs, which resulted in significant frustration for the prisoner. What steps will the Prison Service take to address this issue.
HMPPS
Sentence Management
Recommendation 7
Now that enhanced gate security (EGS) has been installed, when will this be staffed fully during the working day?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As staffing levels have now significantly improved, when will there be an improvement in key work activity across the establishment?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will mandatory drug testing (MDT) be implemented on a routine and ongoing basis within the establishment? Will this be sufficient to fully understand the prevalence of drug taking within the population?
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
Response
When staffing levels allow, this will be re-introduced.
Recommendation 10
What more can be done to improve the number of prisoners employed or attending education? What more can be done to ensure prisoners allocated to work attend?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 11
What can be done to improve the condition of the external exercise yards so that they provide a dignified, safe and fit-for-purpose area for prisoners?
Governor / Director
Estate
Other IMB Reports for Onley
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.