Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Bure
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that he had been assaulted by another prisoner and that the adjudicator failed to refer the other prisoner’s adjudication to an independent adjudicator (IA). IPCI established that the hearing did not sufficiently consider whether an IA was needed. We also found that the adjudicator also responded to the complaint, which contravenes policy.
Recommendations/outcome:
We asked that the Governor consider apologising to the prisoner and to assure themselves that processes are in place to ensure all eligible cases are referred to an IA appropriately. HMP Bure was also asked to review the prisoner complaints framework to ensure complaint responses are allocated appropriately.
Upheld complaint against the Director of HMP Rye Hill
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
Rye Hill told the investigator that they had recently relaunched the policy to staff which included refresher training. We asked that the Director consider what additional action he needs to take to reinforce the expectations of the policy to all staff at Rye Hill.
Recommendations/outcome:
The prisoner complained that an officer made a negative incentives warning which they disagreed with. IPCI found that HMP Rye Hill did not follow their local incentives policy when issuing the warning.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Channings Wood
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained about the loss of property following a transfer from HMP Bristol to HMP Channings Wood. The investigation found Channings Wood liable for the loss and noted that the prison failed to provide property records during the investigation, and failed to respond appropriately to the prisoner during the internal complaints process.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI proposed three personal remedies for the prisoner: that the Governor offer compensation for the missing items, apologise for the loss of property, and apologise for the poor handling of the complaint. IPCI also recommended that the Governor review gaps in property handling procedures, ensure a clear escalation process for delayed transfers, strengthen oversight of unresolved complaints, improve IPCI request handling, and embed a quality assurance process to support compliance with the Prisoner Complaints Policy Framework.
Upheld complaint against the Director of HMP Peterborough
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that his tubs of protein powder and creatine had been destroyed by HMP Peterborough, which he only discovered after he had transferred to HMP Five Wells. Peterborough failed to respond to Investigator’s requests for information and proposal to resolve locally. We had previously made a recommendation about this earlier in the year.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI recommended that the Director embed a quality assurance process to ensure IPCI is provided with requested information and outline further improvements for handling such cases. We also recommended that the prisoner receive compensation and an apology.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wormwood Scrubs
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that HMP Rye Hill lost his legal paperwork and failed to respond to him in time resulting in a missed appeal deadline. IPCI established that Rye Hill did not lose the paperwork, but that HMP Wormwood Scrubs failed to determine that a property bag containing the prisoner’s paperwork arrived at but did not leave the prison. Wormwood Scrubs also appeared to have opened a property bag without the prisoner present and resealed it with other items inside.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI requested that Wormwood Scrubs offer two personal remedies to the prisoner, consisting of an apology and compensation to replace the legal paperwork. We also recommended that the Governor addresses the internal compliance issues identified in the report.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Woodhill
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that prisoners were able to enter his cell and take his vape because staff had not locked the door. The prison accepted responsibility.
Recommendations/outcome:
The prison issued a free vape starter kit to the prisoner after they complained to us, but prior to the completion of the investigation. No further recommendations or remedies were necessary. We hold the view that this complaint should clearly have been resolved by the prison without reference to IPCI.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Swaleside
Complaint category:
Medical
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that while in segregation, they missed two dental appointments because they were not collected. IPCI found the complaint responses were incorrect, as they wrongly stated the complaint was out of time. This part of the complaint was upheld. The prison also failed to record why the appointments were missed.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI advised the Governor that recording reasons for missed appointments on a prisoner’s case notes and including these in complaint responses would be good practice. We also advised that it would be helpful for staff to be aware of the correct timescales for responses and for the business hub to review responses before they are sent out.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Aylesbury
Complaint category:
Accommodation, food, education & other facilities
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that staff were not wearing correct PPE when serving food. IPCI found HMP Aylesbury were not meeting the requirements of national policy as staff did not have in date food hygiene certificates and were not routinely wearing gloves when serving food.
Recommendations/outcome:
HMP Aylesbury were appropriately addressing these issues, so no recommendations were made.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Littlehey
Complaint category:
Categorisation, progression & release preparation
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that they had been turned down for a job role in the prison without a full explanation being given for the refusal. While the prisoner was initially told the refusal was due to security intelligence and behaviour, we found there was no evidence of any security intelligence which would have prevented the prisoner from obtaining the job role. The prison later clarified that the reason for refusal was due to an adjudication.
Recommendations/outcome:
The complaint was partially upheld due to inaccurate information being provided to the prisoner. We did not fully uphold the complaint due to the prisoner having received an adjudication, which had an impact on his ability to secure the job role.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Garth
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
July
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained about the delay in being issued his follow-on property, which had arrived at HMP Garth. Following our involvement, Garth finally processed the property, but this took over four months to process before being issued to the prisoner. The delay was unreasonable.
Recommendations/outcome:
The prisoner has been reunited with his follow-on property. Investigation copied to Governor, so he is aware of this issue.
