News

Despite ministerial assurances over the last two years to the contrary, the Home Office has yet again failed to complete a disability access review for any of the locations that the South and East short-term holding facilities’ (STHFs) Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) monitors. In addition to this, the high volume of people being detained has put pressure on the already overstretched and inadequate facilities at Luton and Stansted airports.

Regular lockdowns caused by staffing shortages reduced in 2023, giving prisoners better access to education. However, too many prisoners were without employment due to a lack of work opportunities and there was an increase in incidents of violence, says the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) in its 2023 annual report, published today (17 July 2024).

In its second annual report, published on 17 July 2024, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at Derwentside IRC again highlights the isolated and remote location of the women’s immigration centre, and its inadequate communications infrastructure, as matters of concern. The monitors, who visit the centre every week, report that many of the women detained at Derwentside are vulnerable, and suffering with mental health issues, and yet they are subjected to lengthy and frequent journeys, sometimes at night. The IMB describes this treatment as being, in some respects, inhumane; at the very least it is unequal to the provision for men, as male detention centres are located much closer to principal airports. 

The prison was the first in Britain to undergo a change of contractor. The change brought a raft of problems which were highlighted in the Independent Monitoring Board’s (IMB) report to the Ministry of Justice. The concerns sparked an unannounced inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and following their highly critical report His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) stepped in to take over the running of the prison. It is now being taken back into full public ownership.

Prison population pressures are resulting in prisoners being transferred into HMP High Down before they are ready to comply with the regime of a category C prison. This practice threatens the stability of the prison and puts immense pressure on the population and staff alike. Combined with a chronic lack of probation staff, it also significantly impacts prisoners’ ability to progress, says the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP High Down in its 2023 annual report, released 11 July 2024.

Concerns about safety and the length of time prisoners spend in their cells at HMP Lewes feature prominently in the Independent Monitoring Board’s (IMB) annual report for 2023/24, published today (10 July 2024). The Board notes that prison staff work hard to be able to give prisoners more time for activities such as work and education, but prisoners still spend too long locked in their cells – around 21 hours a day for those not doing purposeful activities. Time out of cell is especially limited at weekends.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Lancaster Farms has today (9 July 2024) published its annual report for the reporting year 2023-24. The Board is pleased to report that relationships between staff and prisoners were observed to be positive but remains concerned about the impact the changing population has had on prisoners’ day to day lives.

We have today (5 July 2024) published the annual reports for the following Boards

In her first year as National Chair of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), Elisabeth Davies brings together the findings of IMBs across both the prison and immigration detention estates in the 2023 IMB National Annual Report, published today (22 May 2024). You can find out more in the associated press releases on the prison estate and the immigration detention estate.

HMP Grendon is a specialist prison providing therapy for prisoners with a confirmed personality disorder diagnosis. It is the only prison in the UK whose sole raison-d’être is therapy. In its latest annual report, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Grendon highlights a range of problems centred around the prison’s inadequate infrastructure. However, it also reports that the prison has largely returned to its pre-Covid regime, with peer-reviews confirming that it continues to provide high quality therapeutic services.