IMB Annual Reports
768 annual reports from Independent Monitoring Boards covering 171 establishments. IMBs provide independent oversight of prisons, immigration removal centres, and secure training centres. Source: imb.org.uk.
768
Reports
171
Establishments
757
With Key Concerns
Establishment Type
Reports by Year
Key Findings
99% of IMB reports flag key concerns.
Independent monitors cover 171 establishments
across prisons, immigration removal centres and secure training centres.
Fosse Way
PRISON
Concerns
Self-harm: 1,175
Assaults: 508
Staff assaults: 107
HMP Fosse Way faced significant operational challenges in its second year, including high prisoner churn, staffing shortfalls, and persistent building deficiencies like unsuitable furniture and failing lifts. Healthcare provision was unstable, with cancelled appointments and no overnight service, compounded by delays in mental health transfers. While purposeful activity and vocational training were praised, many places remained unallocated, and drug finds were a continued concern.
Key concerns identified
- Persistent staffing shortfalls and an inexperienced workforce place continuous pressure on the prison, affecting core functions and prisoner support.
- Significant building and infrastructure deficiencies, including unsuitable in-cell furniture, unreliable lifts, and the lack of a central laundry, are causing ongoing operational problems and repair costs.
- Gaps in healthcare provision, notably the absence of overnight services and frequent cancellations of external hospital appointments due to escort shortages, compromise prisoner health and well-being.
- Ongoing delays in transferring prisoners with severe mental health needs to appropriate secure facilities, often leading to them being held inappropriately in segregation.
- Underutilisation of purposeful activity spaces, with only 63% of workshop places allocated and education vacancies, hinders rehabilitation efforts.
- High positive mandatory drug test rates remain a concern, negatively impacting the prison regime with associated violence, self-harm, and debt.
- Significant building and infrastructure deficiencies, including unsuitable in-cell furniture, unreliable lifts, and the lack of a central laundry, are causing ongoing operational problems and repair costs.
- Gaps in healthcare provision, notably the absence of overnight services and frequent cancellations of external hospital appointments due to escort shortages, compromise prisoner health and well-being.
- Ongoing delays in transferring prisoners with severe mental health needs to appropriate secure facilities, often leading to them being held inappropriately in segregation.
- Underutilisation of purposeful activity spaces, with only 63% of workshop places allocated and education vacancies, hinders rehabilitation efforts.
- High positive mandatory drug test rates remain a concern, negatively impacting the prison regime with associated violence, self-harm, and debt.
Fosse Way
PRISON
Concerns
Self-harm: 425
Assaults: 159
Staff assaults: 35
HMP Fosse Way opened in May 2023 as a category C prison and quickly reached its operational capacity of 1715 prisoners by February 2024. The IMB's first annual report highlights significant building design flaws, including inadequate facilities and security concerns, alongside staffing shortages and regime limitations. Despite successful integration of vulnerable prisoners, the rapid population increase led to a rise in self-harm and violent incidents, coupled with insufficient purposeful activity and education provision.
Key concerns identified
- The gymnasium, designed for 15 prisoners, is inadequate for a population of 1720, requiring conversion of workshops.
- There is no central laundry facility for large items, leading to costly transport to another prison.
- Domestic-standard washing machines and other electrical items on house blocks frequently require repair and have a limited lifespan.
- There is a significant shortage of office space, with some staff working in cupboards and the IMB office located outside the secure zone.
- On-site healthcare ceases at 7pm, with no residential unit, forcing prisoners with severe mental health needs or requiring palliative/24-hour care to be accommodated on wings or in the CSU.
- The library's location is poor, leading to congestion and noise, which hinders studying prisoners.
- Cell window design is flawed, leading to deliberate damage and security risks, as ground floor windows lack bars.
- Cell furniture made of MDF is easily damaged, necessitating frequent repairs and rendering cells uninhabitable.
- The Care and Separation Unit (CSU) has insufficient cells for the prison's population, with additional cells on G block converted to meet demand.
- Perimeter fencing around house block yards lacks razor wire, creating a security risk through climbing.
- Ongoing staff retention issues and inexperience are impacting the regime and increasing pressure on staff.
- Employment opportunities and education places are insufficient for the prisoner population.
- The Offender Management Unit (OMU) is understaffed, creating a backlog of offender assessments (OASys) for category reviews.
- Self-harm and violence incidents have increased with the rise in prisoner numbers.
- There is no central laundry facility for large items, leading to costly transport to another prison.
- Domestic-standard washing machines and other electrical items on house blocks frequently require repair and have a limited lifespan.
- There is a significant shortage of office space, with some staff working in cupboards and the IMB office located outside the secure zone.
- On-site healthcare ceases at 7pm, with no residential unit, forcing prisoners with severe mental health needs or requiring palliative/24-hour care to be accommodated on wings or in the CSU.
- The library's location is poor, leading to congestion and noise, which hinders studying prisoners.
- Cell window design is flawed, leading to deliberate damage and security risks, as ground floor windows lack bars.
- Cell furniture made of MDF is easily damaged, necessitating frequent repairs and rendering cells uninhabitable.
- The Care and Separation Unit (CSU) has insufficient cells for the prison's population, with additional cells on G block converted to meet demand.
- Perimeter fencing around house block yards lacks razor wire, creating a security risk through climbing.
- Ongoing staff retention issues and inexperience are impacting the regime and increasing pressure on staff.
- Employment opportunities and education places are insufficient for the prisoner population.
- The Offender Management Unit (OMU) is understaffed, creating a backlog of offender assessments (OASys) for category reviews.
- Self-harm and violence incidents have increased with the rise in prisoner numbers.