Springhill

Response
I recognise the Board’s continued concerns about the prison environment as some of the accommodation is towards the end of life which requires regular maintenance to maintain decency. HMP Spring Hill has already been receiving pods, which are single ensuite accommodation for prisoners, to replace the recent demolished accommodation. HMP Spring Hill had a further 41 pods delivered in June 2024 and these pods are an improvement on the existing older spaces. There have also been capital funding business case discussions to replace all outdated buildings and units across HMP Springhill. However, as 180 new and fit-for-purpose places are planned to be delivered at the prison by the Category D Expansion Programme, this capacity will allow wider strategic decisions to be taken regarding the future of the older units at the prison. Turning to the projects needed to maintain the existing infrastructure, it remains the case that demands for maintenance are much greater than the available funding. The available funding continues to be prioritised focusing on risk to life and risk to capacity and decency. It is recognised that the refurbishment of M Hut has provided only a short-term repair to an aging building, however, with prisoners completing much of the work, it not only provided work opportunities and a sense of purpose to improve their environment but was delivered at a reduced cost. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is developing a Long-term Prison Estate Strategy beyond the current spending review period investment. The Strategy’s proposals will be underpinned by condition surveys that are already underway to assess the fabric, cells, and critical assets at each prison. These will inform long-term forward maintenance registers, which can be prioritised against future capital budgets.

Response
The Board is right to continue to raise concern about access to ROTL. Public safety is a priority and the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS always seek to improve access. The Board will be aware that ROTL is subject to a thorough risk assessment of the individual and the place where they will be working, consulting agencies such as the Police and Serious Organise Crime Unit’s as required. Work is continuing to take place to streamline the workplace vetting processes and to improve the information exchange between the prison and the Community Offender Manager. In the interim, probation staff are receiving feedback on the suitability of prisoners at HMP Spring Hill for ROTL, including the provision of accommodation in approved premises. It is recognised that these do cover a wide geographical area and that the timeliness of responses are not always as prompt as HMP Spring Hill would like resulting in some prisoners experiencing delays. Prisoners are kept informed and the prison try to keep delays to a minimum where possible by escalating requests and using professional judgement to progress cases where they are able.

Response
Governors do continue to have the discretion to pay above the nationally set minimum rates of pay in Prison Service Order (PSO) 4460 Prisoners’ Pay and are required to review their local pay policy annually. However, budgetary pressures for prisons do mean that there is little scope to significantly improve the prisoner pay budget. HMP Spring Hill did instigate a 50p per week pay rise in late 2023 and prisoners do have access to ROTL where they are allowed to purchase items outside of the prison to supplement their weekly canteen. In response to the rising cost of living, several measures were also introduced, a national 10% uplift in private cash allowances (money that can be sent in by family and friends of prisoners) was introduced in September 2022 to help mitigate against price increases. In November 2022, several new value brand product lines were made available through the Prison Retail service, giving prisoners the choice to purchase less expensive non-branded items just as people in the community are doing. Purchases of the value brands are becoming increasingly popular and work is underway to increase the number of these products across the range. In addition, the Prison Retail service undertakes a quarterly benchmarking review to make sure the canteen prices that prisoners are having to pay remain consistent with the wider economy.

Response
Prioritisation against existing digital workstreams regularly takes place and there are currently no plans to digitise the prisoner complaints process. The Prisoner Complaints Policy Framework does set out how to handle complaints that relate to another prison. The prison where the prisoner is located at the time that they submit a complaint or appeal is responsible for ensuring that a response is provided within the required timescales. The prison where the prisoner was located when the subject of the complaint occurred is responsible for providing the actual response. To avoid delays in situations where there is uncertainty, for example about where any loss or damage to property occurred, it is essential that the respective prisons agree at an early stage which of them is responsible for providing the substantive response and paying any proposed compensation if the complaint is upheld. If agreement cannot be reached, the complaint should be referred to the relevant Prison Group Director or equivalent as soon as possible. The responsibility for referring the complaint rests with the prison where the complaint was initially lodged. HMP Spring Hill’s internal complaints process is well controlled with few complaints received and there are systems in place to address late replies locally. It is recognised that receiving timely responses to external complaints can be challenging, particularly at prisons where the Business Hub is not fully staffed. However, HMP Spring Hill do digitally scan all prisoner complaints as part of its logging process to speed up tracking responses from other prisons.

Response
Positively, a new post of Head of Education, Skills and Work was created mid-year to address these concerns, but it’s too early to assess its impact.

Response
The EAB was disbanded in April.

Response
More SASH training taking place. There are some staff shortages in the Business Hub, which deals with complaints.

Response
Partially achieved. Still no access to healthcare data.

Response
It was encouraging to read about the improvements being made in diversity and inclusion with forums introduce and run by a dedicated Custody Manager to allow prisoners to highlight and tackle issues.