Acute staff shortages caused by low pay, plus the lack of body-worn cameras, could be behind escalating violence in one of Sheppey's biggest jails.

Barry Page, who chairs the prison's Independent Monitoring Board, is so concerned he has written to new justice minister Stuart Andrews.

In a hard-hitting report, he says: "The Board is extremely concerned at the continuing low numbers of staff and the seeming inability to recruit.

"The inequality of pay and conditions when compared to other government agencies is certainly a factor. The low numbers of staff severely impact the mental health and well-being of prisoners. Urgent action is needed to remedy this situation."

During the past year, there were seven deaths in custody at Swaleside, a category B men's prison at Eastchurch. Only one death was believed to have been from natural causes.

There were 860 incidents of self-harm. Mr Page said: "Although these incidents relate to just 169 individuals, this means that up to 17% of the prison population was self-harming, which is quite alarming."

He added: "It is disturbing to note that prisoner-on-staff incidents peaked to a high level during the last quarter of 2021, although these have since reduced to below the level of the previous reporting year.

"However, prisoner-on-prisoner incidents have been rising substantially. There have been several serious incidents requiring outside hospital treatment."

Mr Page said: "Staff and management are to be congratulated for maintaining a regime for prisoners during a challenging period while facing the crisis caused by an acute staff shortage. But inevitably, this shortage has caused prisoner dissatisfaction with the time out of cells severely limited and many activities curtailed."

He said the use of alcohol, illegal substances and weapons "remained high".

At the time of writing, there were 1,038 inmates but only 160 uniformed staff instead of the agreed 261.

He said more than a third (35%) had less than two years experience and added: "It is apparent that newly arrived apprentice officers do not know what to expect and are seeing the inside of a prison for the first time."

The location of Sheppey was "an exacerbating feature" in failing to recruit because of its isolation.

He added: "It is no consolation that most staff losses are to other Government departments, including Border Force and the police. These other agencies, inexplicably, offer better employment terms than HMPPS for all levels and grades of staff."

He hit out at changes imposed by the Ministry of Justice which has forced the jail to accept younger, shorter-stay inmates.

He said: "In the Board’s view, these changes are having a serious detrimental effect on the stability of the establishment and the well-being of the prisoners.

"These changes appear to be happening throughout the prison estate. The Board wonders whether the impact of these is fully understood."

Mr Page also complained about the lack of working body-worn cameras.

He said: "The use of this technology is valuable for both staff and prisoners. At the time of writing, the Board understands that only 18 to 25 cameras are available.

"It is the Board’s understanding that this situation will not be remedied until 2023/24. That is unacceptable."

The Board also demanded help to find alternative accommodation for a paraplegic prisoner.

Mr Page said: "He has been resident in the healthcare area long-term and this causes many problems. Swaleside is not suitable for this prisoner and that fact has been agreed at the highest level.

"However, despite it being agreed that a transfer is necessary there is, as yet, no action. The Board deplores this situation."

The report added that prisoners "in the main" were treated with "a great deal of respect" by most staff but there had been a growing number of incidents with less-experienced officers.

Milton Keynes College was praised for its educational packs and work by new health providers Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust was welcomed. But the Board complained that Swaleside's overworked kitchens were still providing food for neighbouring Standford Hill open prison.

It insisted stalled work on building kitchens at Standford Hill should be "completed without further delay".

The full report is published here. Independent Monitoring Boards are always looking for volunteers. Details of how to join are here.