Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Lindholme
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 25 July 2024
HMP Lindholme, a Category C training prison, generally meets prisoners' health and wellbeing needs and is supported by a responsive senior management team. However, the Board highlights significant concerns including the detrimental impact of prolonged segregation waits for mental health transfers, a rising IPP population without an implemented HMPPS strategy, and persistent issues with internal property and kitchen maintenance. The report also notes the continued use of double occupancy in single cells and calls for external scrutiny of discrimination incident report forms.
Positive Findings
The IMB commends the staff for their efforts in treating prisoners fairly and humanely, especially given daily pressures. Significant improvements have been made in healthcare access and the education and work sector under a new manager, with some progress in resettlement provision. The use of in-cell technology and the Listeners scheme are successful. The prison’s senior management team is responsive to challenges, and the kitchen staff are praised for providing quality food despite infrastructure issues. The Board also noted positive developments in the management of vulnerable prisoners, use of force scrutiny, and the appointment of an equalities manager.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The number of prisoners in the segregation unit waiting for a bed in a secure mental health facility has increased significantly. Given the amount of evidence indicating prolonged stays in segregated conditions are detrimental to mental health, it does seem to be a paradoxical situation, and one in which the prisoner’s mental health is likely to deteriorate even further.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board expressed concern last year at the number of men who remain in prison with IPP sentences. This year, the number in this prison has risen to 46, of whom 33 are licence recalls. The Board, once again, requests that more emphasis and engagement is given to implementing the HMPPS strategy to prepare these prisoners for release.
Other
There continues to be a high number of applications to the Board regarding issues with property missing within the establishment. This includes cell clearances and other reasons for the movement of property. Property missing internally has remained a problem, often when a prisoner is moved to the CSU.
Food/Catering
Plans have been discussed for many months, with little improvement. The Board asks that this area be given a higher priority and resources be allocated to achieve a long-term solution. Progress on food trolley maintenance has been glacial, resulting in it being a continual problem, which undermines any other progress made by the kitchen team.
Equality/Diversity
During the reporting year, the external review of DIRFs has, unfortunately, not yet happened. The Board regards external oversight as a vital measure of the veracity of the prison’s systems.
Overcrowding
Repeated
The Board must, once again, report our disappointment at the continuing use of cells designed for single occupancy being authorised for double occupancy. This is a decision imposed on the prison in response to the increase in prisoner population nationally. Whilst the Board recognises the extraordinary pressures that HMPPS is under, we feel that double occupancy of cells designed for one person is an abhorrent practice.
Estate/Conditions
In the response to the IMB prisoner survey, 64% of prisoners indicated that cell temperature was an issue. It would seem that the air vents in the windows are often not working. The Board feels this issue deserves more attention and a suitable programme of works to fix them.
Complaints/Property
The Board’s concerns remain, as replies gathered from the IMB survey found that whilst the majority of prisoners (81%) knew how to use the prison complaints procedure, only 64% said that complaint forms were readily available on their wing or spur. Prisoners have little faith that they will receive a timely response to their complaint.
Education/Purposeful Activity
HMP Lindholme’s role as a training prison continues to be dependent on maintaining sufficient workshop capacity to facilitate this role, which it has not been able to do. The delays in reaching a decision concerning the ageing infrastructure are disappointing and have an impact on workshop capacity. There are ongoing issues of low attendance rates in the workshops and education.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Board observed a high staff turnover, with 64 of 199 officers having less than two years' service, and noted some officers appear to lack the ability to resolve prisoners' problems effectively. While a major effort has been made to allocate key workers, prisoners are typically seen only once every 3-4 weeks. The Board finds it difficult to assess the overall benefit of the key worker system in aiding prisoner progression.
Healthcare
Healthcare needs are generally met, with 640 mental health referrals processed, mostly on time, and no waiting list for initial referrals. 63 prisoners are on the mental health team's caseload at year-end. A key concern is the significant increase in prisoners held in segregation for prolonged periods (one for 139 days) while awaiting secure mental health facility transfers, despite guidance for transfers within 28 days and evidence of detriment to mental health from segregation.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison has returned to a normal regime post-Covid, but population pressures necessitate the continued double occupancy of single cells, which the Board deems an "abhorrent practice". Delays in infrastructure decisions impact workshop capacity and purposeful activity, contributing to low attendance. However, new strategies under the Head of Education are improving engagement, and a reviewed vulnerable prisoner policy now encourages integration rather than self-isolation. Ongoing work to upgrade accommodation requires rolling closures.
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 | 4 | 5 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 3 | 11 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 16 | 18 | |
| Equality | 11 | 3 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 4 | 7 | |
| Food and kitchens | 1 | 6 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 14 | 21 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 3 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 7 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 17 | 33 | |
| Property within this establishment | 20 | 22 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 9 | 6 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 20 | 21 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 46 | 20 | |
| Transfers | 10 | 17 |
Recommendations (5)
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 4
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board, once again, requests that more emphasis and engagement is given to implementing the HMPPS strategy to prepare these prisoners for release.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
The Board requests that property issues be addressed, particularly regarding internal moves.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 3
The Board asks that the area of kitchen food trollies be given a higher priority and resources be allocated to achieve a long-term solution.
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 4
The Board feels that the issue of cell temperature/air vents deserves more attention and a suitable programme of works to fix them.
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 5
The Board recommends that the prison focus on ensuring a robust end-to-end complaints’ system that results in prisoners’ complaints being acknowledged and answered correctly.
Governor / Director
Complaints
Other IMB Reports for Lindholme
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
17 Jul 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 1
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.