Rochester

The Board retains its view that re-offending rates cannot be reduced unless there is suitable accommodation for all prisoners who have completed their sentence or are being released on HDC. Bail accommodation and support service (BASS) accommodation is limited in the south east, and the Board urges the minister to look into this further to see how more accommodation can be provided.

I understand the Board’s continued concerns about accommodation provision for prison leavers. It is recognised that prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50% more likely to reoffend than those who have stable accommodation on release, which is why the Prisons Strategy White Paper set out a vision that no-one subject to probation supervision will be released from prison homeless. In the year to March 2022 87% of prison leavers were housed on the night following their release. To build on this further the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is investing an extra £200 million each year by 2024/25 to reduce reoffending by transforming the approach to rehabilitation and improving access to settled accommodation for all prison leavers. This includes, where someone is at risk of homelessness on release from prison, access to up to 12 weeks of transitional accommodation as well as support to move into settled housing. The Bail Accommodation Support Services, known as Community Accommodation Services Tier 2 (CAS2) since October 2022, will also be providing an additional 100 bed spaces with the supplier continuing to increase its presence in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region. In addition, Homeless Prevention Teams (HPTs) are continuing to develop relationships with local authorities and other strategic partners to help find accommodation for prison leavers. Three Strategic Housing Specialists have recently been recruited for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region, including one who will provide dedicated support to two prisons including HMP/YOI Rochester, which are due in post from October.

During the reporting year, the Rochester Board reduced to six active members from an establishment of 14. Consequently, it is finding it increasingly challenging to discharge its statutory duties. The minister is urged to assist with appointments to our Board without unnecessary delay.

I am sorry to hear about the challenges experienced with discharging your statutory duties due to the board having several vacancies. I understand that the Board is now part of the joint recruitment campaign for Kent, Surrey and Sussex with the IMB Secretariat also looking at ways in which they can support recruitment for Board’s within the region.

The accommodation at HMP/YOI Rochester is very poor, and in the Board’s view, just about providing a minimal standard of accommodation. The Edwardian buildings on the old site are dilapidated and challenging to keep maintained; and the newer pre-fabricated buildings have exceeded their original use dates by several years, and are beset with poor ventilation as well as ongoing water supply and heating issues A complete refurbishment of the site has been proposed, and the Board strongly supports this redevelopment.

Despite the significant increases achieved in the last two Spending Reviews, demands for maintenance remains greater than the available funding and projects are therefore being prioritised carefully to make best use of the funding, focusing on risk to life and risk to capacity, decency and sustainability. It is recognised that the accommodation at HMP/YOI Rochester is challenging to maintain and the MoJ and HMPPS are working with the Facilities Management provider to maintain all accommodation in as decent a condition as is practically possible within the available funding. During the current financial year a total of £2.3 million is being invested to improve decency at HMP/YOI Rochester which includes refurbishments to the serveries on B, D, E, R, F and G wings, refurbishing the showers on B and E wings and replacing windows in B wing on a rolling programme. Designs and specifications will also be developed to improve the heating and hot water provision across the prison site, as well as replacement of the boilers in A and D wings. The funding will also enable deep cleaning to all of the cellular accommodation sanitary ware. Painting and decorating to improve the appearance of the prisons is also progressing with paint parties, and flooring replacements will be taking place with any raised as a health and safety concern being prioritised. In addition, the installation of rapid deployment accommodation pods have been commissioned which will ease the burden on the existing accommodation and will provide decent secure places.

Property losses on transfer: yet again, there appears to have been no progress in resolving the problems which occur when a prisoner and their property are transferred between establishments. Frustratingly, items are still going missing and unnecessary delays occurring. This is a transport issue, not necessarily one of volumetric control. Lack of ownership over this reoccurring problem is frustrating. There appears to be an ongoing lack of care in regard to prisoners’ property, illustrated by the 112 applications related to property which the Board has received this year. (See paragraph 5.8.3a.)

Further to the update provided to the Board last year, the new Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework was published on 1 August 2022 with an implementation date of 5 September 2022. The Framework is the result of extensive consultation, including with the IMB. It has been designed with procedural justice at its core and aims to ensure consistency and fairness and enhance prisoners’ satisfaction with processes and outcomes. Given the nature of property, and the movement of prisoners between establishments, the Framework looks to provide greater direction and standardisation on a national basis. It strengthens processes in relation to the main problem areas identified by IMBs and staff including the handling of valuable property, managing cell clearances, compliance with volumetric control and forwarding on excess property following a prisoner’s transfer. In addition, whilst Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) receive few complaints for lost property overall, the introduction of digitally recorded Person Escort Records, including property tags, will assist with investigations for property that is lost in transit with PECS suppliers.

There continue to be too many category D prisoners in Rochester awaiting transfer to open conditions. More category D accommodation needs to be resourced. It is unfair for prisoners to be encouraged to gain category D status, when the opportunities for transfer to open conditions are so limited. (See paragraph 7.3.4.)

HMPPS recognises the Board’s concerns with regard to the availability of spaces in open prisons and it is acknowledged that there remains a high demand for Category D places resulting in many adult men having to be held in closed conditions. As the Board has previously been made aware the availability of Category D spaces was impacted by the requirement to close a number accommodation blocks in the open estate over the course of 2021 which no longer met statutory fire safety standards. This is being managed with temporary accommodation across the estate, which was already present at some sites as part of HMPPS Covid-19 contingencies measures, as well as new temporary accommodation being introduced. The Government has also committed to investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 additional modern prison places across England and Wales by the mid-2020s. As part of this project HMPPS intends to deliver 1320 additional places through expansion of the Category D estate at a number of sites across the country.

While there has been some improvement in cell clearance checks, it still remains haphazard and many are not conducted properly, particularly when an individual is moved to the CSU. Can this be addressed? (See paragraph 5.8.c.)

Further to the update provided to the Board last year, the new Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework was published on 1 August 2022 with an implementation date of 5 September 2022. The Framework is the result of extensive consultation, including with the IMB. It has been designed with procedural justice at its core and aims to ensure consistency and fairness and enhance prisoners’ satisfaction with processes and outcomes. Given the nature of property, and the movement of prisoners between establishments, the Framework looks to provide greater direction and standardisation on a national basis. It strengthens processes in relation to the main problem areas identified by IMBs and staff including the handling of valuable property, managing cell clearances, compliance with volumetric control and forwarding on excess property following a prisoner’s transfer. In addition, whilst Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) receive few complaints for lost property overall, the introduction of digitally recorded Person Escort Records, including property tags, will assist with investigations for property that is lost in transit with PECS suppliers.

While the Board recognises that staffing levels have been impacted by Covid, and while additional staffing hours have been profiled for the property office, the Board’s experience is that it is often unmanned. It has found that that those who undertake a shift in the property office have not had the opportunity to learn the job properly. Could this be taken into account when the staffing position improves? (See paragraph 5.8.)

The VR (violence reduction) gym session that was available prior to Covid restrictions for prisoners who are self-isolating has not restarted, in the main due to staffing issues. This was an effective way of reintegrating vulnerable prisoners, and the Board recommends this is resumed when the situation allows.