News

The 2022-23 annual report for HMP Garth is now published.

The 2023-24 annual report for HMP Lindholme is now published.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) Charter Flight Monitoring Team (CFMT) note in their 2023 annual report, published today (25 July 2024), that the treatment of people being removed from the UK under immigration powers on chartered flights fell short of being fair and humane in all respects. In a few cases this added to returnees’ distress.

Rapidly rising numbers of men sent to prison has increased the pressure on prison managers struggling to provide safe and decent conditions in HMP Leicester. The Independent Monitoring Board in its annual report published today (23 July 2024) is concerned about increased rates of violence and self-harm. Most prisoners are now sharing aging cells designed for one person, where they must eat, sleep and use the toilet and are confined for at least 19 hours a day. Long waits for trial mean that 75% of prisoners in HMP Leicester have not been found guilty or sentenced. Lack of space results in a high ‘churn’ of sentenced prisoners being quickly moved on to other prisons resulting in shortages of clothing and kit and making it difficult for staff to respond to their immediate needs.

The 2023 annual report for HMP Morton Hall is now published.

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.