New annual report finds conditions remain 'very poor' at Aylesbury Vale prison

The latest annual report conducted at an Aylesbury Vale prison found that living conditions remain ‘very poor’ at the facility.

On Thursday (11 May) the Government released its annual Independent Monitoring Board report for HMP Springhill in Grendon Underwood.

Among the findings in the 28-page document, which can be found online here, was that the prison living conditions were in need of significant improvement.

However the 2022 report found levels of violence were low and few incidents of self harm were reported last year.

Another area of improvement highlighted was the work provided by the prison rarely leads to employment on release.

IMB Springhill chair, Christoff Lewis, said: "More men have been able to access full time work in the community although in too many cases this is not sustainable work, as fewer than half of them are still employed six weeks after their release. The living accommodation for most men remains very poor and does not help contribute to a positive resettlement ethos.”

Poor accommodation was also highlighted in the 2022 report released by the IMB. In the 2022 analysis it was labelled as “awful, showing a woeful lack of investment from the prison service”.

At the prison which currently contains roughly 230 inmates, living conditions were highlighted as the main area in need of urgent improvement.

The report states: “The quality of accommodation for the majority of men in the older huts remains very poor and the board again emphasises the need for appropriate investment as opposed to short-term funding to patch the generally decaying infrastructure of the whole site.”

Operations at the prison a returning to normal after the institution had to adapt to Covid restrictions. So far an application to expand the prison to accommodate for an extra 120 inmates has not been authorised.

Data shows the prison to be relatively safe, 14 threats of violence were made to staff, which was down from 23 the previous year. Threats to inmates also declined from 30 to 19, one fewer weapon was found in 2022, incidents of bullying increased from 20 to 22, and five harassment reports recorded.

Yet the report indicates that a high number of people at the prison are connected to Organised Crime Groups which could lead to issues around drug use and illegal items entering the site going forward.

Complaints were well down on the previous year with the majority being linked to transfers in and out of the prison.

Surveys over five years suggest that mental health amongst prisoners had deteriorated, the report did find some good evidence of care, but referrals and reports were taking too long.

To improve men leaving the prison’s ability to find full-time work the board has suggested more full-time work on camp. It hopes the prison will use its link with HMP Winchester to improve transfers and reduce complaints.

The board also wants to see more staff training relating to complaints responses, suicide, and self-harm. IMB wants better access to the prison’s healthcare data as well.

Overall the report found that improvements have been made to the prison’s accommodation, but more must be done.