Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Lancaster Farms
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 9 July 2024
HMP Lancaster Farms, a Category C prison for up to 560 men, maintained a largely safe and humane environment despite operating at maximum capacity. The report highlights successes in healthcare provision and purposeful activity, alongside ongoing issues with staffing shortages that curtail the regime. Key concerns include high self-harm rates, increased violence, estate maintenance, ineffective key worker schemes, and significant waiting times for healthcare and mental health transfers.
Positive Findings
The Board found that staff at HMP Lancaster Farms generally provide a safe, humane, and respectful environment, effectively managing risks and collaborating with various teams. In-cell telephony works well, and primary healthcare provision is largely good. Mental health staff offer excellent support despite challenges, and there are positive initiatives for physical fitness and rehabilitation, such as Project 180/CrossFit. The employment hub is developing new opportunities, and reception/induction processes are efficient. The library is popular, and chaplaincy provides comprehensive support, including courses for debt management and family engagement.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The continuation of high levels of self-harm among a small handful of prisoners, many of whom have challenging and complex mental health needs, yet continue to be accommodated at the establishment rather than transferred to more specialist and secure mental health facilities.
Safety
Spikes in the levels of violence, prisoner debt and substance misuse, with incidents of the use of force almost doubling.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
A minority of prisoners continue to be accommodated on occasions in double cells, with limited toilet screening and/or no toilet seats, and during lockdowns, prisoners are forced to eat inside their cells next to their toilets.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Several outstanding estate issues, such as poor ventilation in some cells, absence of door screens, broken equipment on exercise yards, and overflows and poor drainage in wet weather.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Delayed responses to complaints, especially those related to previous prisons, and prisoners are sometimes not kept updated on progress.
Other
Repeated
The treatment of prisoners’ property remains an issue of concern, especially when they transfer from other prisons, leading to delays or loss of personal possessions.
Mental Health
Repeated
Difficulties remain in finding suitable alternative specialist accommodation at other prisons for those with serious mental health difficulties.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Regularly finding half-empty classrooms and few prisoners in workshops, indicating insufficient purposeful activity and engagement.
Resettlement/Release
The time and cost of visits to Lancaster Farms, with constraints on the use of social video calls between prisoners and families.
Staffing
Repeated
The prison regime is curtailed because of limited staff availability, with a serious impact on evening and weekend activities.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Ineffective key working, with prisoners having no awareness of their key worker, long lists of prisoners with the same key worker, and no regular meetings.
Equality/Diversity
The chaplaincy team is under-resourced, with not all faith groups having a designated chaplain, and an Anglican chaplain post vacant for a year.
Healthcare
Long healthcare waiting times, with GP services typically up to three weeks and routine dentistry standing at 17 weeks by January 2024.
Equality/Diversity
A high number of neurodivergent prisoners (43% of the population) requiring additional assessment, staff training, and review of incentive schemes and CSIPs.
Staffing
Repeated
Staff from Lancaster Farms are deployed to support other prisons whilst Lancaster Farms has activities curtailed due to lack of staff availability.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Board noted that while staffing levels were reportedly rectified, the regime is still frequently curtailed, especially during evenings and weekends, due to limited staff availability or deployment to other prisons. This also impacts hospital visits. Healthcare struggles with recruiting clinical staff, and the chaplaincy team is under-resourced, with several faith groups lacking dedicated chaplains. Offender management is running on 60% of relevant staffing, leading to challenges.
Healthcare
Primary healthcare provision remains largely good, but the timing and prioritisation of hospital visits are concerns. Mental healthcare faces significant challenges, with high incidences of mental health issues and difficulties in transferring prisoners to specialist secure facilities. GP waiting times are typically up to three weeks, while dental waiting times significantly increased to 17 weeks by January 2024. A new provider, Practice Plus Group, is taking over all services from April 2024. The Board notes an increasing number of prisoners presenting with complex health conditions.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison increased time out of cell and purposeful activity compared to the previous year, yet the regime is often curtailed due to staff shortages, particularly impacting evening and weekend activities. A minority of prisoners are still held in double cells with inadequate toilet screening and sometimes eat next to toilets during lockdowns. Maintenance issues persist, including poor cell ventilation and drainage problems. Outdoor exercise is maintained, but access is often cancelled, and the well-resourced gym remains underused on weekends.
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) | 59 | 50 | |
| Clothing | 3 | 3 | — |
| Disciplinary (adjudications) | 10 | 14 | |
| Discrimination | 2 | 2 | — |
| Finance/Canteen | 4 | 3 | |
| Food | 6 | 7 | |
| Healthcare | 43 | 38 | |
| Other | 46 | 46 | — |
| Property | 57 | 59 | |
| Security | 1 | 2 | |
| Staff Conduct | 8 | 10 | |
| Visits | 3 | 3 | — |
| Work/Education/Training | 5 | 4 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
7 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the Minister increase the number of specialist secure prison settings for prisoners with complex and/or enduring mental health conditions?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
Working with NHS England to develop a pathway for men with mental illness. Development of core capabilities framework. Transfers to specialist units limited due to lack of capacity.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. addressed
When will the Minister accelerate resolution for prisoners with outstanding Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
Committed to develop progression of those serving indeterminate sentences (no set release date). Bespoke IPP action plan. Number of IPP prisoners at Lancaster Farms reduced in 2023-24.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
How does the Minister plan to ensure adequate resources for the day-to-day running of prisons and maintenance of a prison now over 30 years old?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
Increased staffing levels at Lancaster Farms. Board still concerned by instances of activities curtailed due to lack of staff availability (often related to staff deployment on emergency escorts).
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Ensure better tracking of prisoner’s personal property transferring between prisons.
HMPPS
Other
Response
Adoption of Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework. Remains an ongoing problem for many prisoners transferring into Lancaster Farms.
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Increase overall prison staffing across England and Wales and remove the anomaly whereby staff from Lancaster Farms are deployed to support other prisons whilst Lancaster Farms has activities curtailed due to lack of staff availability.
HMPPS
Staffing
Response
Staffing numbers at Lancaster Farms have improved. Despite being informed that staffing numbers are appropriate given the resource available, the Board continues to see the regime curtailed due to lack of staffing.
Recommendation 6
Ensure the substantial majority of prisoners at Lancaster Farms are from Lancashire and Cumbria in order to maximise the strong links and opportunities that the prison already has with local employers and accommodation agencies.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Increase the amount of purposeful activity (90% of men in regular education/training/employment) and association time for prisoners.
Governor / Director
Purposeful Activity
Response
Evidence of increased focus on education, training and work. Some new initiatives applauded by the Board, but a large minority of men remain who are not participating in education/work/training. And association time sometimes limited by lack of staff availability.
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Increase the amount and effective use of key working at the prison with demonstrable targets and outcomes.
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
None. Still a major concern to the Board.
Recommendation 9
Increase the use of existing facilities (e.g. classrooms, the gym and railtrack facilities).
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Lancaster Farms
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.