11. Administration and Other Services

General Office

11.1 Since our last inspection, the General Office had been relocated to the upper floor of the Administration Block. The new premises provided enough space for a comfortable working environment though there were some problems over maintaining an even temperature throughout the room and it was clear that some regulation of the heating/ventilation system was required.

11.2 The administration and office functions came under the control of the Systems and Strategy manager though the Finance/Contracts and Procurement functions were the responsibility of the Finance and Contracts Manager. Within the Office there were the criminal, movements, general admin and management administration support desks as well as the telephonist, typist and cashier. As part of an SPS strategy, all posts were now filled by civilians, which meant that the majority of postholders were still relatively inexperienced.

11.3 We noted that there were no inbuilt reliefs in the staffing complement which meant that existing staff had to cover for any absences. That arrangement appeared to be working well, though major problems might be encountered should more than one person be absent at any one time. Staff in the Office worked an overtime rota to cover switchboard duties every evening Monday to Friday though that whole expensive practice was currently under review.

11.4 All procedures appeared to be in line with the SPS guidelines and in response to a recent cash book audit, the Finance Manager had submitted a report on the various issues raised. We did have some concerns about the warrant cupboard and the local procedure whereby staff simply signed a book when taking out or returning a warrant. In our opinion, this system was not secure enough and we suggest that it should be reviewed. Prisoners passbooks were printed each evening by the person covering the switchboard though that arrangement would have to change when the overtime practice was reviewed.

11.5 The main concern expressed to us by staff was over their ability to cope with some of the procedures and the computer systems. We suggest, therefore, that a training needs analysis should be conducted as well as an H & S risk assessment for those who work regularly with computers.

Stores

11.6 The establishment's stores were located in a two storey building adjacent to the Estates Unit. Staffing comprised a Procurement Supervisor and three Officers, of whom two were civilians and one was a uniformed Officer. They were assisted in their operations by two LTPs and one short-term prisoner who undertook general cleaning/passman duties and some administrative functions.

11.7 The ground floor of the building contained the stores office, the expense store and a prisoners' rest area. Upstairs were the stationery, prisoners' clothing and staff uniform stores. The entire area was bright and very spacious with ample secure shelving. The uniform store had a lockable entrance and there was no prisoner access to that part of the unit. We were advised that proposals were being considered for new machinery, which was needed to operate the automatic vehicle gate situated close to the stores entrance; this was to be housed in part of the upper stores area. Proposals had also been put forward for new office accommodation to be built on both the upper and lower areas, thereby easing the overcrowded office accommodation.

11.8 All procedures were in accordance with SPS instructions and a very effective ordering, invoicing and payment system was in operation. Good relationships had been established with SPS Central Stores and no real problems were being encountered over the supply of items, including staff uniforms. At the time of our inspection the existing computer hardware was being upgraded and increased so that there would be one terminal for each member of staff.

11.9 In overall terms, we were very impressed with the whole operation of this clean, tidy and well organised unit.

SPIN

11.10 Computer equipment was located in all strategic parts of the establishment. However, though a bid had been submitted for additional hardware, only a fraction of the required stations had so far been received, with no indication of when the remainder might arrive. Three of the new stations had been set aside for staff training purposes, a facility previously not available.

11.11 The establishment did have a local SPIN co-ordinator who was part of the Operations Group. Considerable work had been put into the Step-by-Step User Guides which were available with each machine and a quality assurance system had also been drawn up and was ready for implementation.

11.12 Limited access to terminals and lack of facilities to provide staff training had contributed to the under-use of the system. Nevertheless, most SPIN functions were being used, even on a limited basis.

Comment

11.13 We support the establishment’s bid for additional hardware. However, the provision of training facilities and the introduction of a quality assurance system should be structured to ensure wider competence and utilisation of the SPIN system.

Records and Journals

11.14 We examined all the establishment’s records and journals. In general terms we were satisfied that the standard of record keeping was adequate though we suggest that action should be taken with regard to the following:-

11.14.1 Request books from all Halls showed some evidence of incomplete entries, usually in the form of the non-recording of action taken; those most frequently incomplete were requests referred to Unit Managers.

11.14.2 Some entries in request books were made in pencil and some had been altered by correcting fluid - practices which are unsatisfactory.

Alcoholics Anonymous

11.15 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) held a meeting in the prison every Thursday between 1900 and 2030 hours at which the attendance varied from 3 to 12 prisoners. (For security reasons, 12 was the maximum number allowed.) The meetings took place in the Education Unit and currently five main sponsors were involved.

11.16 Prior to the recent security review, meetings had been held twice weekly with the emphasis at Tuesday evening meetings being on one-to-one counselling. The AA representatives whom we met appreciated the need to enforce security measures, but were disappointed that one of their meetings had been affected by the review.

11.17 Relationships with management were positive and a meeting was due shortly to take place to review the position, to share ideas and to address any concerns which existed. AA sponsors contributed to the Alcohol Education Group and gave a presentation to this course. Copies of their literature and tapes were donated to the prisoners’ library.

Comment

11.18 The AA representatives were enthusiastic and committed individuals and it was recognised that they were filling a need in the prison population. In particular, the organisation’s involvement in the Alcohol Education Group was sensible and they seemed to be making a positive contribution to the rehabilitative work of the prison.

Butler Trust

11.19 There was a local Butler Trust Committee, the membership of which comprised the HR Manager (as Chairman) and three other members of staff. The Committee met regularly and published minutes of their meetings.

11.20 Following a successful nomination in 1995, the Committee had been disappointed not to have received any nominations for 1996. That had led them to develop a new pro-active strategy including the introduction of a more user-friendly nomination form. As part of that strategy, they proposed to introduce a local recognition scheme for practices which might not meet full Butler Trust criteria, but which nevertheless were deserving of commendation.

11.21 Publicity about the sceme was in evidence at various locations throughout the establishment and we were pleased to learn that management took an active role in supporting the aims of the Scheme.