Report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HM Prison, Penninghame 19977. Primary Services Catering 7.1 Staffing in the kitchen comprised two Officers who operated a normal early and late shift pattern during the week and attended at weekends, plus a Supervisor who worked a midweek day shift and provided cover for any absences. They were assisted by a party of 10 prisoners who each worked six days a week, though the party size was frequently affected by the home leave scheme. Prior to working in the kitchen all prisoners were medically cleared by the MO and hygiene training was provided on an ongoing basis. At one time, prisoners working in the kitchen had the opportunity to work towards a certificate but now no VT courses were provided. 7.2 The kitchen itself was very restricted in size with the result that there were many add-on bits to satisfy particular needs over the years. Prisoners' rest facilities were in a corridor leading to the toilet and were totally inadequate for their purpose. Also the victualling store was outdoors, though an area within the kitchen had been identified as the site for a possible re-location. The entire kitchen area was scheduled for re-furbishment within the next year or so but we learned that one possibility which was being considered was to give Penninghame the SPS's temporary kitchen - which was currently at another establishment to enable refurbishment work there to proceed - as a permanent facility. This is a proposal to which we give our full support as not only would it be entirely suitable for an establishment such as Penninghame but also it would free up the current kitchen to provide valuable space for alternative purposes. 7.3 An advance menu system operated on a four-week menu cycle though meal times were not consistent with SPS Operating Standards - see paragraph 6.12. Breakfast was optional and a brunch was available at weekends. A wide range of choices was offered for lunch and dinner with each meal offering a healthy eating option. Medical and religious diets were provided on an as required basis and a member of the management team sampled meals on a regular basis. During the course of the inspection we sampled meals at different times and found them to be of a consistently high standard and being served at appropriate temperatures - readings of which were taken and recorded by staff on a regular basis. Prisoners to whom we spoke were happy with what was provided and no formal complaints had been raised in writing. A toaster and supplies of bread were also available every night in the dining hall until lock-up. 7.4 Under a recently introduced system, prisoners could order and purchase a range of filled rolls, which could also be purchased for visitors, or cartons of milk - in addition to the pint carton of milk which was provided with their lunch. All such foodstuffs could be kept in the refrigerators which had been provided for the accommodation areas - see paragraph 3.5 - and Catering staff carried out a weekly check of all refrigerators to make sure that only permitted items were being stored; any offending items were removed and a record maintained. The filled rolls/milk purchasing scheme was proving to be very popular and all proceeds went to the Common Good Fund. 7.5 The prison had been the subject of recent inspections by the SPS Catering Adviser and the local Environmental Health Officer and action on the various points raised in the respective reports had either been taken or would be carried out in the near future. Comment 7.6 We were very impressed with the catering arrangements which provided good quality meals on a regular basis. The establishment did have the advantage of serving direct from the kitchen with prisoners then eating their meals in an adjacent dining room, but it was still pleasing not to hear the usual litany of prisoners' complaints about their food. The only downside was the poor working conditions and we were therefore pleased to hear the proposal which had been put forward to resolve that problem. Social Work 7.7 The Social Work Unit comprised one full-time basic grade social worker who had been in post since September 1995. Administrative support had been provided by a local authority employed part-time clerical worker but following discussions between prison management and the local authority, an agreement had been reached whereby the post would be filled by a prison employee. The previous postholder had recently left to take up a new post and interviews were about to be held for her successor. No formal arrangements existed for the provision of cover in the event of any absences on the part of the social worker though his supervisor had indicated that he would consider supplying a social worker from Stewartry Criminal Justice Team. 7.8 Accommodation for the Unit was adequate given the size of the establishment and the social worker enjoyed excellent relationships with prison management, with the two being prepared to work together to resolve any problems. Line management responsibility within the prison rested with the Resources and Services Manager who met regularly with the social worker on both a formal and an informal basis. The social worker also had formal monthly meetings with his local authority supervisor who in turn had quarterly meetings with the Resources and Services Manager. 7.9 The social worker interviewed every prisoner after admission and then read through the relevant warrant and social work file to determine what further action, if any, was required. Fully involved in that determination process were the Personal Officers, who came in for particular praise from the social worker for the conscientious way in which they went about their task. Following that initial assessment, referrals to the social worker were normally via the Personal Officers, though the social worker did make a point of walking round the establishment every day to give prisoners the opportunity to self - refer, if they so wished. 7.10 The social worker was also very much involved in the offending behaviour programmes which were held within the establishment - these programmes are discussed in more detail at paragraphs 7.15-19. We noted also that the initiative of taking groups of prisoners out to local schools to talk about the dangers of alcohol and drugs, which was recorded in the report of our last inspection, was still ongoing. In a further interesting development, as part of a rolling programme two prisoners were selected to work in a local welfare rights office and what they learned there could then be passed on to other prisoners. 7.11 The main problem identified by the social worker - and acknowledged by his external supervisor - was the number of parole reports which had to be completed. Since taking up post he had prepared some 80 such reports and had had to deal with enquiries from the parole Board with regard to individual prisoners. We learned also that as part of the report preparation process, the social worker sent all the reports to his supervisor to read over before they were submitted to the Parole Board. This, of course, added to the preparation time but was defended by the supervisor on the grounds that, unlike the situation in other larger Social Work Units, there was no one with whom the social worker could discuss cases and bounce ideas around. We were pleased to learn that despite that volume of work for a singleton post, the social worker had been praised by the Parole Board for the quality of the reports which he produced. Comment 7.12 It was clear that the social worker adopted a very conscientious approach to his work and was coping well with the busy demands of a singleton post. We were pleased to learn that he felt himself to be a full member of the Penninghame team and clearly he had established good relationships with the Personal Officers. 7.13 We did have some concerns about the rather vague arrangements for the provision of temporary absence cover but we understand that consideration was being given to the introduction of a service level agreement. Given the potential problems which would arise in the event of a prolonged absence as well as the need to cope with peaks and troughs in the demand for service, we believe that such an agreement is vital and, therefore, suggest that prison management and the local authority should work towards the development of such as a matter of priority. 7.14 As noted elsewhere in this report, prisoner numbers had gradually been increasing and it will be important, therefore, for all concerned to monitor that situation carefully as any significant change could result in the need for a complete review of the staffing in the Social Work Unit. Offending Behaviour Programmes 7.15 As noted above, prisoners were interviewed by the social worker as part of the induction process with part of that interview being given over to identifying any programmes from which the prisoner might benefit. 7.16 At the time of our inspection, a wide range of offending behaviour programmes was on offer - ie courses were available on alcohol awareness, drug awareness and men without violence - and work was ongoing to introduce a responsible parent group and a general offending behaviour programme. The courses had all been designed initially by the social worker but were delivered by Officers who had been specially trained in the relevant topics. In addition to those in-house designed courses, there was a general one-day offending behaviour course run by an ex-prisoner and an alcohol counsellor visited the establishment one evening per week for one-to-one sessions with prisoners. 7.17 Courses were held in an area within the staff club and each lasted three days plus a half day for feedback purposes. Group sizes were normally about six and in the six months prior to our inspection, there had been four anger management, three drug awareness and two alcohol awareness courses. As part of each of the courses, there was a session in which consideration was given to the effects on victims. Although attendance on the courses was voluntary, some prisoners were there on the recommendation of the Parole Board. We were interested to learn that proposals were in hand for some of those who had been involved in the drugs awareness group to give talks to local parents and teachers as well as to local drugs workers. Local Justices of the Peace had attended a drugs awareness course in the establishment to give them a better idea of the problems involved with such practices. The social worker was also involved in training staff at HMYOI Dumfries to deliver courses there. Comment 7.18 We were very impressed with the range and number of courses which were on offer and we had no doubts that they had the potential to be of great benefit to prisoners at that stage of their sentence. We were also impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm shown by both the social worker and the staff who were responsible for delivering the courses. 7.19 Our only concern related to the lack of any obvious evaluation of the courses, particularly in relation to those delivered by non-prison staff. Such evaluation seemed to rest entirely on prisoners' end-of-course comment sheets and we suggest, therefore, that a more detailed review system should be introduced to try to ensure that the course contents continued to focus on the right aspects. Chaplains 7.20 Two Church of Scotland Chaplains shared four contracted hours per week on a job-share basis; the Roman Catholic Chaplain had two hours per week. There was no formal arrangement for an Episcopalian Chaplain but one was available on an as required basis. 7.21 There were no religious services within the establishment but prisoners who so wished attended the local Church of their choice on Sundays. We were advised, however, that attendances at those services were very low. The Church of Scotland Ministers took it in turns to attend the prison every Thursday evening for a two hour open forum/discussion group which normally attracted an attendance of around 12. Their remaining hours - and those of the Roman Catholic Chaplain - were taken up with casual visits to the establishment. 7.22 The three Chaplains, all of whom were fairly recent appointments to the prison, worked very well together as a team but had no contact with the representatives of the Prison Fellowship who also visited weekly. The Chaplains were not involved in the induction process but were confident that they got to see every prisoner who wished to speak to them. They also enjoyed excellent relationships with senior management in the establishment. Prison Fellowship 7.23 We met with a representative of the Prison Fellowship who was one of five volunteers who attended the prison regularly on a Thursday evening. Meetings were normally held in the Governor's office with two prisoners regularly attending though that number did vary up to about nine, some of whom also attended a local church service on a Sunday evening. 7.24 The Fellowship representatives enjoyed a good relationship with staff of all grades and though they had not yet met the new Chaplains, there had been good relationships with the previous postholders and they were therefore looking forward to enjoying a similar relationship in the future. There were plans to hold a Christmas carol service to which the new Chaplains had been invited. 7.25 In overall terms, the Fellowship representatives were happy to visit the prison and were pleased with the way in which they were received. Canteen 7.26 Since our last inspection, the central canteen had been closed and replaced in May 1996 by vending machines which dispensed a wide range of snack foods and tobacco; separate machines had been installed for hot and cold drinks and telephone cards. The new system was working very well and sales per prisoner had actually increased since it had been introduced. Staff and visitors also had access to the machines which were located in the entrance hallway of the main building and there were no restrictions as to when prisoners could use them. Stocks of stamps were held in the General Office from where a limited sundry purchase scheme also operated. 7.27 Although the canteen did not operate in the traditionally recognised sense, there was no doubt that it was meeting the needs of the establishment and we were satisfied that all accounting arrangements were being dealt with in the proper manner. Laundry 7.28 The laundry was situated at the rear of the main building and though there was adequate lighting and ventilation, was in a poor state of decoration. 7.29 There were two industrial washing and drying machines though one of the driers had not been working for some time. Up to three prisoners were employed in the area with supervision being provided by a Residential Officer on an ad hoc basis; overall responsibility rested with the Industrial Supervisor who controlled the stocks of cleaning materials and oversaw any machinery maintenance. Items handed in for laundering before 1000 hours were returned the same day. 7.30 We were satisfied that an acceptable level of service was being provided but suggest that the out of commission drier should be replaced. The entire area also needs re-decoration. Estates 7.31 As part of the SPS's market testing initiative, an external contractor had assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the estate from January 1996 on a three year contract; the same firm also had the contracts for HMP Barlinnie and HMYOI Dumfries. The team comprised two full-time tradesmen working to a foreman based at Dumfries and supplemented on an as required basis by tradesmen from Barlinnie or hired on a sub-contract basis. Both full-time tradesmen were recognised key holders and therefore had access to all service areas. In addition to the contracts team, there was also an estates team which comprised a manager, two tradesmen and one administrator. 7.32 Accommodation and storage for both teams was adequate though the estates team was having to store the stock from various trades in one area. There was a good working relationship between the two teams and we were pleased to learn that all WTIs and maintenance work were up-to-date. Small repairs were about 95% up-to-date but problems were being experienced in obtaining the correct spare parts. We learned also that because they did not always have the required tools on site, the contracts team often had to borrow items from the estates team. 7.33 At the time of our inspection, there was one on-going capital project which was the provision of additional prisoner accommodation and a new recreation facility (see paragraph 3.8) which was due to be completed by early 1997. There was also a number of minor works projects - viz, an extension of the General Office, the creation of an MDT facility and the conversion of the staff club gymnasium to make it suitable for indoor football, all of which were due for completion on schedule before the end of the financial year. A project to supply spring water to the gardens area was likely to run into the next financial year. Comment 7.34 In overall terms, we were satisfied that the new contract arrangements were working well and that general maintenance was up-to-date. Our main concern related to the poor state of the decoration in much of the main building and we suggest that consideration should be given to finding ways of tackling this problem as soon as possible. Fire Precautions 7.35 The establishment's Fire Precautions Officer (FPO) was a Residential Officer who was also a member of the local H & S Committee. A new Deputy FPO - who was a civilian Estates worker - had recently been appointed and at the time of our inspection, was attending a training course at the Scottish Fire Service Training School, Gullane. 7.36 Liaison with the local part-time fire brigade was excellent and members of the brigade made regular familiarisation visits to the establishment. The call-out time from the local village was about 12 minutes. Within the basement of the establishment there was an excellent facility where staff were trained in the use of the new breathing apparatus; the facility was regarded as being so good that the local brigade also used it for their own training exercises. We understand that HMYOI Dumfries was also considering making use of it. 7.37 As regards the breathing apparatus, we learned that 90% of staff had been trained in its use. However, at the time of our inspection it had not been introduced because the procedure manual stated that it was necessary to have three staff in attendance - which was not always possible at Penninghame, particularly during the night (see paragraph 7.39) - and that it was not to be used in areas which accommodated more than four people, which ruled out most of the dormitories. The establishment was, therefore, awaiting a decision from SPS HQ as to whether the equipment was to be withdrawn. 7.38 All staff had been trained in the use of fire hose reels and full records were being maintained of all training provided. Emergency escape route plans were posted throughout the establishment, including one in each accommodation area. Fire drills were conducted every three months and in recent times there had been ample opportunities to test those procedures following a spate of false alarms which had been occurring after evening lock-up. Those false alarms had started after the installation of a new smoke alarm system but steps had been taken to eradicate them, including a ban on the use of aerosol sprays which, it was found, could set the system off. Fortunately, at the time of our inspection, there had been no such alarms for about six weeks. We were interested to note that every day a print-out was produced listing the names of all prisoners in the establishment at lock-up and that list was then used as a checklist in the event of any evacuation. 7.39 The recent spate of false alarms had highlighted an issue which gave us cause for considerable concern. Staffing during the night consisted of a single Officer whose patrol area was within the main house. In the event of fire, his task was to alert the fire brigade, advise the Duty Manager, activate the staff call-out procedure and muster all prisoners and account for them once evacuation had taken place. The night patrol Officer was also required to brief the Fire Service on arrival on the site of the fire and expected to confirm that all prisoners had been accounted for. The experience of those who had been involved in recent evacuations was that the Fire Service had deployed and arrived at the establishment before prisoners were accounted for and staff were therefore unable to assist the Fire Service personnel in the first, crucial minutes after their arrival. We were sufficiently concerned about this situation to raise the matter immediately with SPS HQ and recommended that a full Risk Assessment take place without delay. (Action has since been taken though the final outcome was still ongoing at the time of signature of this report.) 7.40 Three months prior to our inspection, the prison had been inspected by HM Inspectorate of Fire Services and following one of the recommendations in the subsequent report, new plans of the establishment had been drawn up and passed to the local fire brigade. By the time of our inspection, all the recommendations which did not involve any expenditure had been attended to and plans had been drawn up for the remainder. The problem was, however, in trying to obtain the appropriate funding to undertake those necessary tasks. 7.41 Another problem was the lack of facility time for the FPO properly to carry out the necessary fire precaution duties. The Deputy FPO would continue to maintain and test the extinguishers and hose reels but that apart, it was difficult to find time for other duties. We noted also that the room which previously housed the canteen had been designated as an office for the FPO but that there had been a considerable delay in completing the refurbishment work necessary for that purpose. We were assured, however, that such work would be completed shortly after our inspection. Comment 7.42 The very nature of Penninghame's fabric makes it a fire risk and we were therefore pleased to see the recognition which had been given to such a danger. The establishment was amply supplied with appropriate fire fighting equipment and staff and prisoners were aware of the risks involved. We do feel, however, that those very dangers justify the argument for allowing time to enable the FPO and his Deputy to ensure that those awareness levels are maintained and that every possible step is taken to reduce the risk of serious fire. We suggest, therefore, that a specified time should be set aside every week for fire precaution duties. 7.43 We also believe that the night patrol provision requires to be urgently reviewed and action taken to reduce the risk to life and property which is apparent in the current arrangements. Health and Safety 7.44 The H & S coordinator was a Residential Officer with appropriate qualifications, a duty which he had held for four years; his Deputy was also a Residential Officer. There was a local H & S Committee which was chaired by the Resources and Services Manager with membership coming from a wide range of functions throughout the establishment. The Committee met quarterly and in October 1996 had updated the local H & S policy statement. 7.45 The H & S coordinator was very committed to his task but pointed out that he was not being given time properly to undertake that function; for example, he did not have the time to undertake any H & S audits. Also, some initiatives were being introduced with him being consulted - eg, the introduction of refrigerators in the accommodation areas. 7.46 The establishment had been inspected by the SPS's H & S Adviser in March 1996 and all the points raised in his report had either been actioned or were in the process of being attended to. All accidents were being properly recorded and reported to SPS HQ but we were advised that many of those incidents resulted in litigation by the prisoners concerned, which took up a considerable amount of time. Comment 7.47 The establishment was fortunate to have someone who was dedicated to ensuring that H & S issues were being properly looked after but given the fact that in in recent times H & S issues have assumed a much higher profile, we feel that they should be accorded a proper level of attention. At paragraph 7.42, we have suggested that time should be allocated to enable the FPO to undertake that function; we suggest that such consideration be extended also to the H & S coordinator. Energy 7.48 The establishment's energy coordinator was the Estates Manager. He was also a member of the local Energy Committee which was chaired by the Resources and Services Manager with the other members coming from the gardens and catering functions. However, the Committee had not met for some time. 7.49 The main energy sources were liquid petroleum gas, oil and solid fuel and meters to record usage had been installed in all areas. The establishment was doing well in meeting the targets set by SPS HQ for energy saving, mainly as a result of a number of recent energy saving initiatives such as the installation of lighting sensors in corridors, low energy light bulbs and a time clock for the lights in the main driveway. In addition, the main boilers had been replaced. 7.50 Other initiatives which were being considered included installing humidity sensors in the shower areas to replace the existing time clocks on the fans and pumping water from some natural reservoirs into the gardens thereby saving on the use of tap water - see paragraph 7.33.
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