Contents

Question to the Minister
Questions to Phil Wheatley, Director General of the Prison Service
Summary
Health Care Centre
Suicides/Death in Custody
Reception
First Night In Prison
Diversity / Equal Opportunities / Race Relations
Segregation Unit
Sentence Management Unit
Serious Incidents
Visits
Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme
Probation / Resettlement
Library
Education
Kitchens
Staff Mess
Workshops
Kit
Young Offenders 18 - 20 years old
Gym
Regimes
Anti-Bullying
State of Buildings
Chaplaincy
Administration
Work of the Board / Statistics
Conclusion

Question to the minister

Six years ago approximately £12 million was spent on bringing High Down up to Cat A standards. Since then Cat A prisoners have been held in a decent, secure, competent prison until they were removed in June this year. Would the Minister please explain what is the future for the barely used Cat A facilities in High Down, mindful of the public purse and the 95% security audit rating received in January this year while holding Cat A’s?

Questions to Phil Wheatley, Director General of the Prison Service

Can the Director of Prison Health please tell the Board when there will be additional, safe accommodation for mentally ill prisoners and those at risk of self harm?

Is there a policy for funding of CCTV for in-patient health care units, especially those with ward accommodation? If so, when will High Down be so funded?

Can it be confirmed that when the NHS takes full control of healthcare that mentally ill prisoners may commence treatment as soon as they are diagnosed and receive ongoing treatment to the standard of that received in NHS hospitals, both in prison and on release?

The Board continues to be concerned about the use of cells designed for two men being used for three prisoners without adequate facilities or space. This problem has been raised by this Board on countless occasions without response. When will the cells either be returned to double-occupancy or decently refurbished to include three chairs, three lockers and table space for three men to take their meals?

Summary

HMP High Down was opened in 1992 and is a core local Category B prison, serving the courts and holding male remand and sentenced prisoners. Six years ago approximately £12 million was spent on bringing High Down up to Cat A status. This year the Cat A prisoners have been removed, despite another excellent security audit. Whilst it is understood that staff shortages have made the running of a Cat A regime difficult, the Board is concerned about the use of public funds in this way.

Over the reporting period High Down has held, apart from the normal prison population, Cat A prisoners, young offenders, vulnerable prisoners and deportees.

HMP High Down has suffered hugely from staff shortages over a very difficult year in which the operational capacity had to be increased from 714 to 754 and for the majority of the time the prison was full. The recruitment and retention of staff is still a real problem, although much has been done to reduce long-term sick leave.

Between December 2002 and June 2003 there was considerable uncertainty about whether Cat A prisoners would remain at High Down. The delay in reaching a decision put extra pressure on management and staff and meant that, although security was always good, there was an impoverished regime for prisoners. In June 2003 the prison re-roled to Cat B and all Cat A prisoners were transferred out of High Down to other prisons.

In August 2003 the convicted young offenders were all transferred to Young Offender Institutions. YOs on remand (Young Adults) have been held throughout the reporting period and these prisoners mix with the general population, though not sharing cells with adults.

The Board is concerned that vulnerable prisoners are regularly held in the Segregation unit as there is no VP unit now at High Down.

Immigration Service delays in dealing with the cases of some deportees means they can be held well beyond their release date. This is an extra strain upon the prison population.

With an ever-increasing prison population the Board would like to commend the senior management team and all staff for their commitment and humanity in dealing with a very busy prison. The Board appreciates the hard work of Governor Ted Butt in raising the performance of the prison over the past three years and welcomes Governor Sian West who was appointed in October 2003.

The Board was both sorry and concerned to see so many of the senior management team and staff leaving over a very short period of time.

High Down has had an overall successful year due to the hard work and goodwill of management and staff.

The atmosphere in the prison continues to be good, with excellent staff/prisoner relationships.

Contents

1) Health Care Centre

Since April 2003, the Primary Care Trust has been responsible for the funding of medical services. The PCT will be responsible for the commission and provision of health care in the prison by April 2006. The handover of responsibility to the PCT seems to be proceeding well. The provision of stand-alone computers with access to the NHS net has been promised. Meetings take place with the PCT and the PCT sends a representative to the clinical governance meetings at the prison.

a) Mentally ill prisoners

Psychiatric services to the prison have improved. It is recognised that mental health and drug problems in prisons are very high and that the need for adequate care of these prisoners in prison and proper care after release is essential.

The Board is concerned at the number of mentally ill prisoners who are held (sometimes for months) in the HCC awaiting transfer to secure hospitals. The accommodation and facilities in Healthcare are not adequate to care for these, and other prisoners, at risk of self-harm with only two improved cells and two gated cells.

b) Therapist

There is still no occupational therapist. However, recently, activities are being arranged by staff for some patients.

c) Drug treatment

Treatment of drug dependency in prison is good on the whole but a very large number of prisoners entering the prison have drug and alcohol problems. The appointment of a detox nurse in the Health Care Centre was welcomed. Incidences of smuggling illegal drugs into the prison are still high and the Board is aware, from the rising number of positive drug tests since the prison reroled, that this is on the increase. While there is a tendency for the misuse of prescription drugs strict controls are in place to minimise this. The CARATS team, who assess and carry out group work with prisoners, have recently introduced two new rehabilitation programmes. The Drug Strategy Management Group meets monthly; a Board member attends as an observer.

d) Wheel chairs

The Board is concerned about the number of wheelchair users, who are otherwise fit, occupying cells in the HCC for long periods. Sometimes as many as six of the 26 beds are used in this way. These prisoners are unable to attend courses which will assist in their progress through their sentences and rarely attend work or education. Those who wish, however, attend gym for suitable activities.

e) Out Patients’ Appointments

The Board has again been concerned about the number of health care appointments which have been missed. Arrangements for these, and other appointments, have improved since the introduction in July 2003 of regime boards on the houseblocks. It is hoped that the new system of dispensing medication on the houseblocks will further improve the situation.

f) Staffing

There is still difficulty in recruiting medical practitioners and the employment of agency nurses on a regular basis can mean a lack of continuity and a problem with communication putting extra pressure on regular staff. The occasional failure of agency staff to attend for duty can be extremely disruptive to the running of the department.

Healthcare staff continue to do an excellent job under difficult circumstances.

Contents

2) Suicides/Death in Custody

The Board regrets that over the reporting period there have been three deaths in custody. However, it would like to acknowledge the hard work and sensitivity of staff, including the excellent care team, in dealing with these sad occurrences.
Management dealt sensitively with each of the families concerned and memorial services were held in the prison chapel.

Suicide prevention is given the highest priority at HMP High Down and this has resulted in there being a relatively low number of these regrettable incidents. Statistically core local prisons, which hold newly sentenced and those remanded in custody, have a higher rate of self-harm and suicides than other prisons. At High Down the Suicide Prevention Team meets monthly and is attended by senior staff from all areas of the prison, Samaritans and prisoner ‘Listeners’. A member of the IMB attends as an observer. The dedication and commitment of the safer custody officer ensures that high standards are established and maintained. All staff receive training in suicide prevention and the attentive care given to prisoners who self-harm is of the highest quality.

On completion of their training, certificates are presented to the Listeners at evening events held in the prison for them and their families.

3) Reception

Reception is busy and sometimes understaffed, dealing with an average of eighty-five new prisoners each week. While staffing levels seem adequate in busy times, officers are frequently cross-deployed at quiet times. Therefore getting property sorted, security cleared, bagged and tagged and handed out to prisoners is often well behind any reasonable time-scale. The situation improves from time to time when management intervenes and ensures that staff are available to clear the shelves. Prisoner escort services often arrive late from court, keeping staff beyond their scheduled hours. There are regularly good hot meals waiting for prisoners, but information sheets are often not available.

The area is fairly well cleaned and maintained although there is graffiti in the holding cells — it has been there throughout the reporting period.

HM Inspector for Prisons recommended two years ago that there should be televisions for those prisoners who are kept waiting for long periods of time. These were installed but then removed for safety reasons and have not been replaced.

The Board has been aware on occasions that the reception screening and cell risk assessments are not always carried out to the highest standards, potentially placing prisoners in unsafe locations.

The installation of video links with local courts means remand prisoners do not need to attend court regularly and this has reduced some Reception throughput.

High Down has an excellent record for having prisoners ready for court collections in good time.

Contents

4) First Night In Prison

The FNIP scheme for those prisoners who have never been in prison before is very important. After excellent early work at High Down on this initiative the practical result is disappointing. Many proposed facilities have either not materialised or not been maintained. Sometimes FNIP prisoners are located directly into Segregation or Healthcare and therefore may miss induction, which only takes place there once a week. On normal location induction has suffered over the reporting period and was frequently cancelled; however, it has improved significantly over the last few months and staffing for it is now ring-fenced. The ‘Insider’ initiative, using trusted prisoners to visit newcomers to explain the system and to answer questions, has proved to be invaluable.

Staff involved do work very hard to improve the system and their dedication is not in question. It is usually the low staffing levels which impact on the delivery.

5) Diversity / Equal Opportunities / Race Relations

During the reporting period the Race Relations and Diversity Management Team has
built on its previous strengths. The Diversity & Equality Manager is a dedicated full-
time Principal Officer. The work of the committee has expanded to incorporate all
forms of diversity including disabilities, age and gender as well as race.

Meetings are held every two months attended by a wide range of representatives from all departments of the prison and observed by an IMB member. Two prisoner representatives attend the first half of the meeting, where mainly racial and disability questions are discussed. The second half deals principally with issues pertaining to staff, both uniformed and others. The prisoner representatives are encouraged to raise any relevant subject and their input is both valued and respected.

Figures available for the reporting period September ’02 – October ’03 record a total of 87 reported incidents.

At a Disability Awareness day during the summer, various disability information and resource stalls were set out for all staff and prisoners, with a sports event in the afternoon.

A Community Partnership Day was held recently to which members of local ethnic minority organisations were invited, to increase their awareness of the prison and its systems. It is hoped this will be repeated.

Contents

6) Segregation Unit

The Segregation unit has been extremely busy over the reporting period with increasing numbers of vulnerable prisoners being held there in the absence of a VP unit at the prison. Staff have worked very hard, but at times the Board has had concerns about how the pressure of work and the lack of training has affected overall standards in the Segregation unit.

The Board is dismayed that so many VPs are held in segregated conditions, sometimes for several months, with little or no regime. Attempts have been made at times to provide some occupation and gym for a few prisoners, but this is irregular.

The situation becomes a matter of even greater concern when a serious incident occurs in the prison and spaces in the segregation unit are needed immediately to locate the prisoners involved.

The Board has been concerned about the increasing use of the special cells in the segregation unit and their use for extended periods of time. Staff deal extremely well with difficult and violent prisoners, but with only two improved rooms in the HCC the special cells in segregation have, on some occasions, had to be used for prisoners at risk because they were the only safe option.

At the beginning of the reporting period the new system of adjudications was introduced with a District Judge visiting the prison about once a month to hear the more serious charges, which might incur a punishment of added days for the prisoner. The system has worked reasonably well, though there are frequent adjournments for legal advice or witnesses to be called, which may mean that (with such delays) a prisoner could be released from prison before his adjudication can take place.

Appeals application forms should be readily accessible.

The Board notes the proposed changes in the signing-up procedure, under Rule 45, were implemented two weeks before the end of the reporting period (November 17, 2003). However, under the system in place over the last 14 months, case reviews were frequently out-of-time or postponed. The Board has been concerned during this period that segregation staff were not always aware of its statutory role in the unit.

7) Sentence Management Unit

The staff in SMU have had a very difficult year with large numbers of prisoners transferred in and out of the prison each day. Earlier in the reporting period staff were regularly cross-deployed and were unable to complete any sentence plans for about four months. Although the situation has improved a little some prisoners still leave High Down without a sentence plan.

Staff are always extremely helpful to Board members in advising on prisoners’ applications to be transferred. They have had to work especially hard this year in attempting to relocate vulnerable prisoners in VP units elsewhere in the prison estate.

Contents

8) Serious Incidents

There have been two hostage incidents this year and a number of cell barricades. The last of these disturbances, in October 2003, involved 13 prisoners in five cells. The incident was resolved peacefully with no injuries to staff or prisoners.

On all occasions when control and restraint methods have had to be used the staff have been excellent and performed their duties in a totally professional manner.

The Board has worked with management to ensure that it is properly informed of all serious incidents at the prison and that it is, where safe, permitted access to the incident in order that members can fulfil their duties to observe and report and to safeguard the rights and interests of staff and prisoners.

9) Visits

On average there are 350 domestic visits each week to HMP High Down and about 120 legal visits.

Convicted prisoners at High Down can expect to have three domestic visits a month – but one of these is a privilege visit and may be withdrawn as a disciplinary measure. Convicted prisoners on enhanced status can expect four visits a month.

Visitors may book visits up to seven days in advance but there have been ongoing problems in contacting the prison to make telephone bookings. In 2003 visitors were allowed to book visits at the Visitors’ Centre as they left the prison and this is working well. Legal visits can be arranged by fax.

Visitors wait in a purpose-built Visitors’ Centre staffed by a coordinator and volunteers who provide excellent facilities and support for families. There have been some complaints about the delay in entering the prison from the Visitors’ Centre.

The visits hall in the prison is very well run by staff with a good welcoming atmosphere. A trained play worker helps occupy children and a tea bar provides refreshment (and on occasion birthday cakes) for prisoners and their visitors. CCTV equipment monitors the area.

This year a Family Visits day was organised in the gym to strengthen relationships between fathers and their children. This was very successful and a further day has been arranged for later this year. It is hoped this will include even more families.

Contents

10) Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

The Board monitors the scheme and notes that normally fewer than a dozen prisoners are on a basic regime. Prisoners should retain their existing standards on transfer to High Down but it is common for enhanced prisoners to enter the prison on a standard regime until their status can be confirmed. There are only about 50 enhanced prisoners, located throughout the prison.

11) Probation / Resettlement

The Probation and Resettlement department is extremely busy and successful. The probation officers and staff see every remand prisoner, some 2,000 a year, write pre-sentence reports, take part in self-harm reviews and carry out risk assessments including child protection.

The bail information officer interviews prisoners who may be entitled to apply for bail, approximately 600 a year, to check addresses and drug and alcohol dependency issues. If prisoners have no fixed abode Surrey Springboard sometimes helps in finding hostel accommodation. A large percentage of prisoners have no fixed abode so the appointment of a housing officer to the department this year was welcomed.

The Home Detention Curfew scheme is running well and the period on tag has been extended over the past year. Those prisoners serving between three months and four years are eligible. This excludes civil prisoners and those on remand or subject to deportation. The extended period on tag is now four and a half months for those prisoners serving between eighteen months and four years.

Resettlement has been a priority this year and staff have worked very hard to raise the level of advice and support given to prisoners to prepare them for release into the community. There are plans to offer more training in the workshops so that prisoners can improve on basic skills and acquire some qualifications to make them employable. In recent months a weekly session has been held for those prisoners due to be released within two weeks. Advice and help on employment, training, accommodation, benefits and debt management is given by New Bridge and Surrey Springboard. Advice is given by the Carats team on drugs and alcohol. This initiative by management and staff is very welcome.

Contents

12) Library

During the first part of the reporting period large numbers of prisoners were unable to have access to full library facilities, allegedly due to staff shortages. This situation has improved in the last few months with a new library timetable, though the facility is not yet as accessible to prisoners as it could be.

The Librarian is very enthusiastic and has arranged visits from authors and poets to encourage prisoners with their writing and broaden their interests. With the Education department she also organised a successful poetry and art exhibition at the Bourne Hall, Ewell, at the beginning of the year. An award ceremony was held in the prison a few weeks later, with a well-known author presenting the certificates and prizes.

13) Education

There is a continuous programme of classes for the improvement of literacy and numeracy with the opportunity for prisoners to obtain qualifications. To enable more prisoners to take NVQs on workshop courses, a new head of learning and skills has been appointed by the prison to link the workshops with education.
The cookery class, teaching health and hygiene in the domestic kitchen and basic skills in cookery, nutrition and budgeting, is a valuable training for prisoners preparing to cope on their own on release.

The standard of work exhibited by prisoners from the poetry and art classes at the Bourne Hall was very high.

A successful parenting class was commenced.

Very recently the Education department has launched the first issue of a newsletter for prisoners, produced by prisoners with additional contributions from staff.

Contents

14) Kitchens

The kitchen continues to provide good nutritious food for the prisoners with a varied and imaginative choice of menus, catering for all dietary needs on £ 1.50 per day per prisoner. The Board receives very few complaints from prisoners about food. In addition staff train prisoners working in the kitchen, enabling them to acquire NVQ certificates.
Three ‘gourmet lunches’ have been held this year to demonstrate the prisoners’ expertise to prospective employers. The kitchen also provides excellent buffet lunches for special events and kitchen staff are available on call to provide food and drinks to staff during out-of-hours incidents.
The Catering Services Manager won a national prison service award in recognition of his work.

15) Staff Mess

From the beginning of the year food standards in the staff mess have been of concern. The kitchen was closed and vending machines and microwaves were introduced. The initial quality of food supplied was poor and the contract with the supplier was terminated. The prison kitchens then commenced providing sandwiches for the machines, and these became more popular, though no hot food is available for staff. However, the mess has lost its atmosphere and appeal as a place for staff to relax and there are now plans to convert it to a training centre. This means that staff working long shifts will have no central place to take a break. The restrooms on the houseblocks do not fulfil the same purpose. The Board believes that staff deserve better facilities.

16) Workshops

The Industrial Cleaning workshop this year won the regional and national Elton Trophy for its excellent record in training prisoners to NVQ standards in industrial cleaning. The workshop has been a success since it started in 1994 and the instructors are to be commended for their enthusiasm and commitment.

The computer workshop (part of the education contract) offers prisoners an opportunity to develop the IT skills required in managing a small business including spreadsheets, databases and graphics. In order to increase the potential of this section the building will be adapted to accommodate extra computers and linked facilities.

The textile workshop, equipped with a range of up-to-date industrial sewing machines, has been a disappointment. The instructor left earlier this year and the facilities have been out of use for most of the reporting period. The Board has been told that there are plans for this area to be reopened. There are also plans to open another workshop which has been closed for the past three years. These are intended to provide more constructive and purposeful work for prisoners, and to make greater use of the excellent facilities.

Contents

17) Kit

There is still a problem in providing adequate change of kit for prisoners and this was particularly felt during the hot summer. With so many prisoners leaving the establishment, kit goes missing. This year the stores have been particularly short of tracksuits and towels.

18) Young Offenders 18 – 20 years old

Convicted Young Offenders have been held during the reporting period until August 2003. They were located on one spur of a houseblock and the Board were very concerned about their lack of regime. Attempts to establish education on the houseblock were very slow to succeed and YOs rarely had access to library services.
The only activity which was regularly organised was gym, which was very popular. A needs survey, completed in June 2003, recognised that the YOs were under-occupied and that there was a need for more education and training, including recreational classes.

A particular concern of the Board was the location of some YOs in three-man cells. These cells anywhere in the prison are deplored by the Board, but with younger prisoners they seem to create more problems. Partitions were erected in some single cells, enabling them to be used as double cells. They have not yet been used as such.

Young offenders on remand are still held at High Down with the adult population and also some convicted, but not sentenced, YOs.

19) Gym

The gym has been refurbished this year and an extra floor installed to accommodate exercise machines. Staff are to be commended for their imagination and professionalism in providing a full programme of activities for prisoners of all abilities. All the programmes have been very popular with prisoners, who undertake self- and peer-discipline as they treat gym as a privilege.

Contents

20) Regimes

Once again the staff shortages have meant an impoverished regime for prisoners with long periods spent in their cells. Often, programmes organised with the best of intentions have had to be cancelled and there is not enough work or purposeful activity on a day-to-day basis. There has been some improvement since June but the statistics do not bear out what Board members are finding in their monitoring of the prison. A personal officer scheme has recently been introduced which aims to improve relationships with prisoners and reduce complaints.

21) Anti-Bullying

There have been significant developments in this area, with regular meetings and anti-bullying group-work with prisoners. A Board member attends as an observer. The Board is concerned, from its monitoring of the houseblocks, that on average only six prisoners in any one week are on the bullying books, seeming to indicate that it is not a problem. The Board believes, from talking to prisoners, that this is not the case.

22) State of Buildings

The main concern of the Board this year has been the deteriorating state of the showers, especially on Houseblock Four. Paint is peeling off the walls and ceilings, sluices are not working and there is mould because of poor ventilation. In a prison that is only eleven years old the state of the showers is deplorable, with several out of action and one condemned. Moreover, when windows are left open pigeons enter and their droppings are everywhere in the showers. It is neither fair, decent nor reasonable that prisoners have to shower in these conditions.

Pigeons have generally been more of a health and safety problem this year, making a great deal of mess on the walkways and on the outside areas between the houseblocks. This situation is not helped by prisoners throwing their food out of the windows. Pest controllers have been brought in to try to deal with the problem and prisoners are now employed as “Red Band” cleaners.
Generally cells are shabby and not well-maintained.

Contents

23) Chaplaincy

A multi-faith, multi-denominational group is available for prisoners and staff and always willing to help with personal problems. Regular and special services are held.
They are particularly valued during and following serious incidents at the prison when support may be needed by those involved.

24) Administration

a) Request & Complaints System.
The new complaints system, which commenced near the beginning of the reporting period, is working well. Prisoners have easier access to the forms they are required to use and there are sealed boxes in all residential areas. This has resulted in an increase in confidential applications to the Governors and to the Board. The applications to the Board have rarely been of a confidential nature.

b) Mail.
Continuing problems with mail have largely been resolved but still occur when staff are absent and no replacement staff are available. The mailroom has been moved to a houseblock with better working conditions for staff.

c) Canteen.
Following reorganisation, canteen is working smoothly. However, prisoners regularly complain that they are forced to pay higher fixed prices rather than any special offers printed on the packages.

Contents

25) Work of the Board / Statistics

In April 2003 Boards of Visitors nationally were renamed Independent Monitoring Boards to reflect their work more accurately. We have currently fourteen members, four having left the Board during the year and three new members having been appointed in the summer.

We continue to have monthly meetings, sometimes with short training sessions first, and an annual performance review. Four members attended the Annual Conference and three have attended national training courses during the year.

This year every member has received computer training, health and safety training and, individually, participated in a triennial review.

Board statistical information, for the extended reporting period, from 1 October 2002 to 30 November 2003

Monthly meetings : 14
Rota visits : 60
Total record of applications : 652
Property : 120
Racial : 1
Money/post/canteen/Phone : 108
Healthcare : 61
SMU/ transfer/categorisation : 145
Visits : 47
Complaints against staff : 20
Regime : 60
Others : 90
Rule 45 authorisations
GOOD : 32
Own Interest : 146
Use of segregation special cell : 98
Use of healthcare centre improved rooms : 128
Average prison population : 722

Contents

Conclusion

The Board would like to emphasise that not all areas of excellence in the prison have been mentioned in this report, but, at the end of a very complex year, the Board commends staff and management for the diversity of their activities. Staff have been excellent in managing some very difficult prisoners and in managing many vulnerable prisoners before, during and after their trials.

The Board recognises and appreciates the enthusiasm of staff in taking forward plans for resettlement and rehabilitation and the initiative taken in arranging special days to promote family and community links despite staff shortages. In the past, the Board has been sad to note that some new initiatives have failed to progress. This has been frustrating for all those who put time and effort into planning such initiatives and the Board trusts that current proposals are carried forward.

Contents