Swansea

Response
I understand the Board’s request for prisoners to continue to receive support in accessing accommodation on release. The ‘all in’ approach taken by the Welsh Government since the start of the pandemic continues to be in place with consultation recently undertaken on the transitional legal arrangements to continue the approach prior to wider scale legislative reform. More broadly, for those released from custody, the Accommodation Pathway for Wales outlines the route for prison leavers to access accommodation and the introduction of the Community Accommodation Services Tier 3 project (CAS3) funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) addresses the availability and suitability of accommodation. The project in Wales is being funded for three years effective from July 2022 providing accommodation for up to 84 nights to those at risk of being homeless upon release from prison. It will also support those moving on from an Approved Premises or following a period at a Bail Accommodation and Support Services (BASS) residence as part of their resettlement and will also support transition into settled accommodation. The Welsh Government, MoJ and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) remain committed to supporting Local Authorities to ensure that prison leavers are considered in their response to ending homelessness. Homeless Prevention Teams (HPTs) set up to oversee the Covid accommodation emergency have been retained as a permanent feature of HMPPS to develop relationships with local authorities and other strategic partners to embed and expand housing options for prison leavers. The Accommodation Pathway Co-ordinator roles will also provide additional support to Local Authorities and Practitioners to improve resettlement arrangements. The introduction of Commissioned Rehabilitative Accommodation Services by HMPPS is also placing a greater focus on resettlement plans and better preparation for release and locally HMP Swansea is amongst the highest in its comparator prison group for achieving the accommodation outcome upon release.

Response
Turning to your concerns about the mental health services on offer to prisoners, in June 2022 the Welsh Government confirmed additional funding to Swansea Bay University Health Board (UHB) as part of its Service Improvement Funding for Mental Health. This will provide further support to the services at HMP Swansea, with £132,918 being made available in 2022/23 to fund a dedicated HMP Swansea Prison In-Reach (PIR) Secondary Care Team and a further £265,836 allocated for 2023/24 onwards. The Governor is pleased with this proposed change to the provision having raised the matter previously with the Prison Partnership Board, and it also being raised by the Welsh Parliamentary Review into Prison Health Care and by Health Inspectorate Wales. In addition, £330K has been allocated to Swansea Bay UHB on an annual basis since October 2019 to directly support the delivery of the Partnership Agreement for Prison Health in Wales and its priority on mental health. The Welsh Government will continue to work with Swansea Bay UHB to ensure there is an ongoing focus on the mental health needs of prisoners and it is pleasing to read the recognition given by the Board in your report to the local Healthcare and Homeless Team’s for their coordination of treatment and medication for these prisoners on release.

Response
HMP Swansea, as with other prisons in Wales, is a national HMPPS resource that provides spaces for any prisoners, including foreign nationals. However, the prison has a focus on taking prisoners from the courts it serves which includes those who have committed offences in Swansea and South Wales, but who may reside elsewhere. It is recognised that transfers into Welsh reception prisons from prisons in England are sometimes necessary, especially from HMPs Bristol and Hewell during times of population pressure. HMPPS tends to redirect to HMP Cardiff in the first instance, instead of HMP Swansea due to the distance involved which can subsequently affect occasional court redirections from HMP Cardiff to HMP Swansea. All redirections are cleared with the HMPPS Office in Wales before actioning them and during the Board’s reporting period, transfer statistics for two months where significant redirections took place (November 2020 and February 2021) show 73 and 26 transfers took place respectively. During both months, HMPPS were managing considerable Covid-19 outbreaks in the South West of England and had limited access to prison places which necessitated prisoner redirections, mainly from Bristol to Cardiff, which may have then affected Swansea. Overall, there is no evidence that large numbers of out-of-area prisoners are redirected to HMP Swansea.