HMPs Ashfield, Doncaster and Thameside IMB annual reports
In November 2021, the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) published their annual reports on three Serco managed prisons. HMP Thameside’s was the first report to be published on November 10, followed by HMP Ashfield on November 12 and HMP Doncaster on November 15.
Across all three prison reports, COVID-19 remained the dominant theme and the IMB analysed how each of them responded to the pandemic, particularly in keeping prisoners safe as well as safeguarding prisoner wellbeing amidst Covid restrictions.
The IMB’s report on HMP Doncaster said the prison has made ‘notable improvement’ in their 2020 Monitoring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) survey compared to the previous year.
At HMP Ashfield the IMB said that the prison was well-managed with high standards where prisoners are treated fairly and humanely in a safe environment.
The IMB noted that HMP Thameside took effective measures to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in challenging circumstances.
The IMB is an organisation of volunteers independent from both government and private sector organisations, whose job is to inspect the conditions of prisons across the UK. IMB members also play an important role in dealing with problems inside an establishment and can act on behalf prisoners to solve a variety of issues including lost property, visits from family or friends, special religious or cultural requirements, or even serious allegations such as bullying.
You can read all three reports from the IMB here:
HMP Ashfield: https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/imb-prod-storage-1ocod6bqky0vo/uploads/2021/11/Ashfield-2020-21-for-circulation.pdf
HMP Thameside: https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/imb-prod-storage-1ocod6bqky0vo/uploads/2021/11/Thameside-2020-2021-annual-report-for-circulation.pdf