Prison
Cat B, C, D, training
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Isle of Wight
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 5 July 2024
HMP Isle of Wight's population rose to 1,089 in 2023, operating at near capacity. The prison experienced a rise in deaths in custody (13) and violent incidents (191), although self-harm decreased. Key challenges included aging infrastructure, high staffing vacancies in OMU and healthcare, and inconsistent regime delivery for older prisoners, while positive developments were noted in education and integrated mental health services.
Positive Findings
The Board noted compassion shown during deaths in custody and an encouraging decline in self-harm incidents. Staff-prisoner relationships were generally positive, with efforts made to improve staff skills. Healthcare requirements were mostly met, with fewer complaints and a positive integrated approach to mental health and substance abuse. Significant improvements in education and programme delivery were observed, alongside increased library access and proactive engagement to secure library services for the future.
Key Concerns
Safety
Thirteen deaths in custody occurred in 2023 compared with seven in 2022.
Safety
The number of reported violent incidents in 2023 was 31% higher than in 2022, with prisoner-on-prisoner incidents increasing by 72%.
Safety
The frequency with which force was used increased by 44%.
Staffing
Repeated
Key worker targets continued to be missed.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Issues continued around food transportation to and distribution on wings, including inadequate staff supervision, servery staff without hygiene certificates, damaged insulated trolleys, poor separation of halal/non-halal food, and lack of serving utensils.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The age of the prison’s infrastructure, combined with maintenance and repair issues (such as external drainage, mould, leaking roofs, heating/hot water problems, and unserviceable washers/driers), continued to have an adverse effect on conditions for prisoners, particularly in areas of Parkhurst.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The central prison laundry remained out of use throughout the year due to the same steam generation problem, having been closed for at least three years, leading to lost job opportunities and additional costs.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Older prisoners (aged 65 and over) who were neither working nor in education were often locked up during the working day when wings were not fully staffed, due to an inconsistent application of policies and rigid reliance on safe systems of work.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Work opportunities remained constrained by a lack of instructors and the poor state of repair of some workshops (e.g., roof repairs, broken extractor fans, leaking roofs affecting print shops).
Staffing
Repeated
Staffing shortages in the offender management unit (OMU) remain extremely high, impacting prisoners’ progression, limiting contact with prison offender managers (POMs), and causing delays in annual re-categorisation reviews.
Safety
When prisoners arrived late (between 17:15 and 19:00), processing sometimes appeared rushed or was delayed until the following day, presenting a potential risk.
Healthcare
Medical staff conducting initial health screening outside core hours did not have access to a dedicated speaker telephone for translation services, nor were they trained to access and use them, potentially putting vulnerable prisoners with poor English at risk.
Equality/Diversity
Induction materials have yet to be translated into other languages.
Safety
Repeated
Documentation for ACCT reviews was often incomplete, despite steps taken by the prison to monitor performance.
Complaints/Property
The prison was not consistently exercising the opportunity to defer charging prisoners until receipt of the confirmatory second test result following an initial positive Mandatory Drug Test (MDT), causing stress and anxiety.
Overcrowding
Repeated
Double cell occupancy in some Parkhurst house blocks, where cells are not designed for multiple occupancy, lack adequate toilet screening, and prisoners eat meals in their cells.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Breakdowns in the call system and limited time allowed for toilet visits during night sanitation, posing difficulties for older residents.
Healthcare
Repeated
The continued absence of a dietician, following the departure of the sole qualified member of staff during 2022, remains a cause of concern.
Staffing
Limited expertise for neurodiversity support, despite a welcome appointment of a dedicated manager, suggests a need to expand capacity.
Equality/Diversity
Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF) investigations often went outside of the timeframe.
Staffing
Vacancies for chaplains in several faiths remained unfilled.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The expectation that complaints be dealt with within five working days was, again, not fully met in 2023.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Property issues, including lost or delayed property in transit and the 14-day turnaround for processing newly arriving prisoners' property, remained a significant source of formal complaints.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Waiting lists to join some education courses, such as Level 1/2 English, remain high.
Education/Purposeful Activity
It is not clear how the prison intends to measure the impact of the literacy strategy.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Ministry of Justice’s approved stock policy for books in an establishment for men convicted of sexual offences cuts out a significant number of books where a teenager is the main protagonist.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Constructive steps were taken to improve staff skills and confidence, though key worker targets remained unmet. High vacancies persisted in healthcare (43.6 WTE out of 71.4 WTE) and the Offender Management Unit (OMU), impacting progression. Agency staff covered some healthcare gaps. Instructor vacancies for work opportunities fell from 10.5 to six, but some roles remained hard to fill. Limited expertise in neurodiversity support was also noted.
Healthcare
Healthcare requirements were generally met, with a 30% reduction in complaints. An integrated mental health and substance abuse service was introduced positively. However, significant staffing challenges persisted, with many senior clinical posts unfilled, necessitating reliance on agency staff. The mental health caseload was around 160 prisoners, and the absence of a dietician remained a concern. Despite this, the needs of elderly and palliative care prisoners were met to a high standard.
Regime & Daily Life
Regime reliability improved in 2023 due to increased staffing from overtime, benefiting work, education, library, and gym access. However, the weekend regime remained impacted by staff shortages. Prisoners continued to complain about late unlocks and a more restricted weekend. A significant concern was the inconsistent unlocking of older prisoners (65+) who are not obliged to work or attend education, often leaving them locked up during the working day due to rigid policy interpretation.
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 | |
| Discipline | 12 | 10 | |
| Healthcare | 55 | 54 | |
| Meals | 9 | 10 | |
| Other | 23 | 28 | |
| Property | 54 | 65 | |
| Regime | 13 | 17 | |
| Respect/equality/diversity | 14 | 19 | |
| Staff | 37 | 22 | |
| Total | 274 | 273 | |
| Work/education/activity | 12 | 10 |
Recommendations (8)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 5
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
What will the Minister do about the impact of transferring prisoners from secure hospitals to an already full and stretched prison?
Ministry of Justice
mental_health
Recommendation 2
When will the Minister take urgent steps to address the chronic shortage of qualified probation staff?
Ministry of Justice
staffing
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the Prison Service prioritise funding to repair the central laundry?
HMPPS
estate
Recommendation 4
How will the Governor ensure translated induction material is always available and remove possible barriers to the use of translation services. This should include providing speaker telephones and training for health workers who cover reception health screening outside of core hours from the IHU.
Governor / Director
equality
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
How will the Governor prioritise the repair of the heating plant in Parkhurst and the provision of washing machines and driers on all wings?
Governor / Director
estate
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Governor look for innovative approaches to recruit workshop instructors and prioritise repairs to workshop facilities?
Governor / Director
education
Recommendation 7
How does the Governor plan to ensure a consistent and fair approach to unlocking retired prisoners during the working day?
Governor / Director
regime
Recommendation 8
When will the Governor put in place an effective means to monitor the impact of the literacy strategy?
Governor / Director
education
Other IMB Reports for Isle of Wight
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.