Inspections at HMP Lindholme

The prison was inspected in July 2023. In their report the inspectors said:

Lindholme is a category C training prison that sprawls across a large, open site in South Yorkshire. At our last inspection in 2017, the biggest challenge facing the prison was the ingress of drugs. I am sorry to report that this problem has remained every bit as serious and continues to affect outcomes in many areas.

Half of the prisoners in our survey told us it was easy to get drugs and, most concerningly, 21% said they had developed a problem since coming to the jail. As well as being the cause of most deaths at the prison in recent years, drugs had also been responsible for debt problems that drove the higher than average and increasing levels of violence.

The size of the site meant that drones were often able to fly in contraband undetected and there was no routine searching of staff or X-ray machines at the gate. Inexplicably and despite bids from the jail, the prison service had failed to put in place the technological and physical solutions that have helped to reduce drug supply in other prisons.

It was heartening to see prisoners unlocked for longer than we have seen in most recent category C prison inspections, but there was not enough for them to do, and boredom encouraged drug-taking to pass the time. Leaders had failed to make sure there were sufficient places in education to meet the high demand, particularly in English and maths. The closure of two large hangers that had contained workshops further limited the offer, although the very good training kitchen and café continued to operate well. Too many prisoners were in part-time activities or were underemployed in wing work and there were not enough qualifications on offer.

The offender management unit (OMU) was staffed by a hard-working team, but they were woefully under-resourced, with nothing like enough team members to be able to provide for any more than the most urgent cases. When I walked round the jail, almost every prisoner I spoke to complained about the lack of support from the OMU. Many had a feeling of helplessness, unable to progress with their sentence or complete the non-existent accredited programmes that featured on many of their sentence plans. It was disappointing to find things even worse in this area than in 2017, when we also noted long-term failings.

Most prisoners complained about the food, particularly the lack of variety and small portions. This was compounded by price rises in the shop which meant that many men could not afford to supplement their limited diet.

Health care provided a good service for those who were able to get appointments, but staff shortages meant waits were far too long – up to five weeks to see a GP and 26 weeks to see an optician.

There were some notable positives at the jail: good work had been done to improve the treatment of new arrivals, a compassionate and professional team ran the segregation unit, and the governor and other leaders were active and visible around the site. Each prisoner had a laptop and we saw better functionality and use than in other prisons, with good communication from leaders and the opportunity to email family and friends. Family days were very popular and there were some excellent initiatives, such as charity runs that brought prisoners and staff together. It was good to see the opportunities for independent living on the enhanced spurs where prisoners could cook for themselves and were not locked in their cells. One of the more positive parts of this inspection was the quality of the staff and the excellent relationships that many of them had with prisoners.

Our lowest score of ‘poor’ for our healthy prison tests of purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning show that the jail is failing to fulfil its function as a training prison. Leaders must not accept this status quo and there needs to be concerted work to create an effective strategy to reduce the supply of drugs. This must be supported by the prison service in providing technology and funding for better gate security, without which the drug problem will remain intractable. As well as dealing with supply, the prison also needs to address demand by making sure that prisoners have enough to do during the day and are supported to progress with their sentences and reduce their risk of reoffending on release.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
September 2023

The inspectors included a brief summary of key actions points for the prison

 

What needs to improve at HMP Lindholme

During this inspection we identified 15 key concerns, of which five should be treated as priorities. Priority concerns are those that are most important to improving outcomes for prisoners. They require immediate attention by leaders and managers.

Leaders should make sure that all concerns identified here are addressed and that progress is tracked through a plan which sets out how and when the concerns will be resolved. The plan should be provided to HMI Prisons.

Priority concerns

  1. There was a very high level of illicit drug use in the prison, which was linked to violence, debt and deaths in custody. Remedial action was not sufficiently comprehensive or coordinated.
  2. Prisoners had poor access to health services because of weaknesses in the application process and poor organisation of prison officer escorts to health care.
  3. The prison was not adequately fulfilling its core function as a training establishment. The range, quantity and quality of education, skills and work were inadequate to meet the needs of prisoners.
  4. Leaders had not implemented a curriculum that met the needs of the prison population. Few prisoners could study towards accredited qualifications or have their personal and employability skills developed and recognised to support successful transition to another prison or release.
  5. Prisoners could not progress through their sentence and achieve their targets. Reasons included poor availability of offending behaviour interventions, a lack of progressive transfer opportunities and a severely understaffed offender management unit.

Key concerns

  1. Not enough was done to encourage the high number of self[1]isolating prisoners to return to a normal regime.
  2. Efforts to prevent self-harm were hindered by night staff not carrying ligature knives, lacking awareness of the needs of vulnerable individuals or the location of automatic external defibrillators. Cell observation panels were not kept clear.
  3. The key working scheme was not well established. Only about a third of scheduled appointments were delivered and records showed that they rarely focused on progression goals.
  4. Many cells were poorly ventilated and could become very hot. The ventilation screens in many cells were either blocked or painted shut.
  5. Recent price rises in the canteen had sharply reduced the number of items that prisoners were able to buy.
  6. Prisoners requiring transfer to specialist inpatient facilities under the Mental Health Act were waiting too long. One man in this category had been in the segregation unit for more than four months.
  7. Leaders had not made sure that all prisoners were able to attend well-planned purposeful activity places that contributed to the fulfilment of their future goals.
  8. Leaders had not made sure that all prisoners with low English and mathematics skills levels, and those with special educational needs, received the help they needed. Current strategies had failed to achieve their aim of raising prisoners’ participation in reading.
  9. Leaders had not made sure that workshop instructors used information about prisoners’ existing levels to plan sessions which would help them develop valuable employability skills. Too often instructors focused on meeting production targets rather than providing training to prisoners.
  10. Information-sharing and subsequent planning to support public protection were weak. High-risk prisoners due for release were not discussed at the interdepartmental risk management team meeting and concerns that should have been addressed before release were not adequately managed.

 Return to Lindholme

The full reports can be read at the Ministry of Justice web site, just follow the links below: