HMIP Inspections, Moorland

The prison was inspected during March 2023. In his report on the inspection held in the inspector said:

HMP Moorland is a category C training and resettlement prison near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Built in the early 1990s, the prison was holding just over 1,000 adult men at the time of our inspection, a significant proportion of whom had been convicted of a sexual offence. It is pleasing to report, that in keeping with the findings from our last inspection in 2019, Moorland continues to be a successful institution where outcomes for those detained are reasonably good against all of our tests of a healthy prison.

There was an appropriate focus on respectful treatment and the identification of potential vulnerabilities for newly arrived prisoners. Violence was falling, in part because of initiatives to support behaviour management which were informed by some good use of data and multi-disciplinary working, but also due to incentives, notably access to better accommodation. Oversight of interventions such as security, segregation and use of force was rigorous and proportionate, while work to promote safeguarding was effective, evidenced by a significant fall in self-harm since we last inspected.

Staff-prisoner relationships were mostly open and positive, although we identified a lack of professionalism from some staff. Key working was effective among the limited number of prisoners the prison had concentrated on, but arrangements for formal consultation, applications and redress needed prioritisation and improvement. There was some useful work to promote equality, but responses to our survey from some minority groups suggested that more needed to be done, including better communication with these prisoners. Outcomes in health care were generally good.

Time out of cell had improved in recent months, but this was from a low base following the end of the pandemic. Most prisoners now experienced between four and eight hours out of cell depending on their employment status, although their experience was much worse at weekends. Spot checks indicated that about a quarter of prisoners were locked in their cells at any point during the working day, but our colleagues in Ofsted judged the overall effectiveness of learning and skills provision to be ‘good’, their second highest assessment and better than we normally see at similar establishments. Outcomes in rehabilitation, public protection and resettlement planning had all improved – again reflecting good oversight and multi-disciplinary working practices – and were now reasonably good.

Moorland is a capable and well-led establishment, where managers and staff support the governors’ vision. Throughout our inspection we found excellent collaborative working across departments and disciplines, as well as a supportive approach to help staff be more effective in their roles. Enthusiasm, good communication and clarity of purpose were all underpinned by visible leadership. The governor and her staff should be congratulated for the progress they have made, and we have every confidence that the prison will continue to improve. We identified several priorities which we hope will assist that process.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
April 2023

The inspectors also provided a short list of areas which they believe need attention

What needs to improve at HMP Moorland

During this inspection we identified 14 key concerns, (they actually only listed 13!) 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. Leaders had not done enough to understand and address the needs of, or improve outcomes for, certain minority groups.
2. Time out of cell remained too limited for prisoners who were in part[1]time employment or education, and was insufficient for those who were unemployed or on the basic level regime.
3. There were not enough education, skills and work places for all prisoners, and some had to wait too long to access the courses they required.
4. Prisoners did not have sufficient access to offending behaviour programmes, limiting their opportunities for progression.

Key concerns

5. Some security procedures were disproportionate. For example, some prisoners were still instructed to squat during a strip search without good reason.
6. The application and complaint systems were not working well. There had been no analysis or quality assurance to understand the issues.
7. Too little work was done to address the poorer outcomes for younger prisoners.
8. Some areas of primary care needed to improve. New arrivals did not receive a secondary health screen within their first seven days, not all patients with long-term conditions had an annual review, and care plans were not personalised and reviewed regularly.
9. Patients due to move to specialist inpatient facilities under the Mental Health Act did not do so within the current transfer time guidelines.
10. Outside work, there were not enough informal activities and prisoners were bored.
11. Leaders did not evaluate whether prisoners managed to sustain employment once they left the prison, and were therefore unable to tailor the curriculum to meet resettlement needs.
12. There was not enough capacity to meet the increasing demand for visits.
13. Video-calling facilities were poor.

 Return to Moorland

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

• Inspection report (3 MB), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP & YOI Moorland by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (13–24 March 2023)
• HMP & YOI Moorland (1.55 MB), Report on an announced inspection of HMP & YOI Moorland (11-21 February 2019)
• HMP/YOI Moorland,Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP/YOI Moorland (1 – 12 February 2016
• HMP/YOI Moorland, Unannounced full follow-up inspection of HMP/YOI Moorland (3–7 December 2012)
• HMP Moorland, Announced short follow-up inspection of HMP Moorland (29 November – 3 December 2010)
• HMP/YOI Moorland, Unannounced short follow-up inspection of HMP/YOI Moorland (6–8 October 2008)
• HMP/YOI Moorland, Announced inspection of HMP/YOI Moorland (12-16 December 2005