Whatton

Will the Minister reconsider the recommendation of the Justice Select Committee to commission a re-sentencing exercise for all prisoners on IPP sentences?

I appreciate the Board’s ongoing concerns about prisoners that are subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. The Justice Select Committee (JSC) published their report into the IPP sentence on 28 September 2022 following a year-long inquiry. The Government has now issued a formal response to the Committee’s report, which can be accessed on the parliament.uk website. The Government continues to focus on the rehabilitation of IPP prisoners through a refreshed and updated Action Plan, published on 26 April 2023, as a response to the JSC’s report. The Plan provides a renewed focus on supporting those serving IPP sentences in both custody and the community, by ensuring that each prisoner has a robust and effective sentence plan, tailored to their individual need, and supporting those in the community on licence to comply with their conditions. The refreshed Action Plan will be a strong driver to build on past achievements and continue to provide the best possible opportunities for those serving an IPP sentence to progress towards a safe and sustainable release. These efforts in recent years delivered a substantial reduction in the number of IPP prisoners who have never been released. That number stood at 1,269 at the end of September 2023, a reduction from 1,437 at the end of September 2022. It remains a priority for His Majesty’s Government that all those serving the IPP sentence receive the support they need to progress towards safe release from custody or, where they are being supervised on licence in the community, towards having their licence terminated altogether. In that respect, the Lord Chancellor advised in his statement to the House of Commons, on 16 October, that he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation eight of the JSC’s report. He will come back to Parliament on this in due course.

Can the Minister commit to a date when the statutory limit of 28 days for transfers of prisoners needing secure psychiatric care, which was referred to in the previous Minister’s response to our report last year, will be passed into law?

The Mental Health Bill, which introduces a statutory 28-day time limit between referral to transfer within which individuals with an assessed severe mental health need must be transferred from prison or detention centre to hospital under the Mental Health Act, is expected to be enacted during Spring 2024. This mirrors the standards set out in the ‘Good practice guidance on the transfer and remission of adult prisoners under the Mental Health Act 1983’, published by NHS England in 2021. To support this reform, there are ongoing workstreams between NHS England and stakeholders in the criminal justice system to promote clinical best practice and timely access to care in an appropriate setting for those whose mental health needs cannot be met in prison and other places of detention. The Bill will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows. Announcements on the contents of the forthcoming legislative programme are a matter for the King’s Speech, to be made later this year.

Will the Prison Service ensure that adequate funding is made available to HMP Whatton to provide for effective and meaningful resettlement training for its prisoners approaching release?

HMP Whatton is an example of recent improvements in the national staffing picture within prisons. From June 2022 to June 2023 the number of Band 3-5 prison officers increased by approximately 15%, however we also recognise some staff are then assigned to detached duty. HMPPS remains committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain levels of experience fundamental to delivering quality outcomes for prisoners. Prisoners at HMP Whatton are encouraged to engage with resettlement processes and the prison advertises job vacancies, provides CV writing assistance, and assists with information on disclosure of offences. The recent appointment of a Head of Education, Skills and Work manager and a Neurodiversity manager significantly strengthens learning and skills opportunities throughout the establishment in order to meet the needs of the labour market. Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) are available to all sentenced individuals released from Resettlement or Non-resettlement prisons and are designed to support sentenced prisoners and those subject to Probation supervision in the community address the needs linked to their offending and to achieve the stability they need to do so. Community Offender Managers (COMs) are based in the community and have overall responsibility for providing resettlement support to all prisoners released from HMP Whatton. COMs engage with specialists based in prison, including the Offender Management Unit, and in the community and making sure a resettlement plan is in place for when people leave prison. HMP Whatton is one of the largest providers of Offending Behaviour Programmes and has an impressive record in securing accommodation upon release. Nationally, HMPPS will be introducing Resettlement Passports which will be set up prior to release and will bring together the key information and services that an individual needs to resettle into society, such as bank accounts, CVs and ID to prove right to work and rent.

Can the Prison Service confirm to the Board that the new property framework for prisoners’ property is meeting the objective(s) of the new framework, and share any data that is available to show that improvements have been made and the new framework is on target to achieve its objectives? How will you ensure that improvements are being made?

HMPPS notes the Board’s concerns about the transfer of prisoners’ property despite implementation of the new Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework on 5 September 2022. The Framework places an emphasis on ensuring compliance with volumetric control limits, since anything within these limits will be transferred with the prisoner. Volumetric control limits apply to all prisons and the Framework contains a leaflet to explain these limits to prisoners. The Framework introduced a new requirement that prisons must transfer excess property within four weeks unless there are exceptional circumstances which make this impossible. The Framework is clear that Governors should ensure management checks are undertaken to have confidence that prisoners’ property is being handled correctly and with care. HMPPS will monitor the impact of the new Framework going forward and will continue to look at what further improvements can be made.

Can the Prison Service give us a timescale for the installation of the replacement Eureka system?

The replacement of the Eureka key security system has been allocated capital funding for completion during the current financial year. HMPPS is currently awaiting cost estimates from the facilities management provider. If the estimates fall within the allocated funding, the project will be completed before the end of March 2024.

Will the Governor ensure that key working remains a priority and the correct level of engagement with prisoners is maintained?