Long Lartin

Response
Further to last year’s response around night sanitation facilities, work on the upgrade programme started in May 2021 with each wing taking three to four months to complete subject to the number of additional work items discovered. The upgrade programme highlighted the large volume of doors requiring replacement together with a substantial number of less major repairs. The majority of reported night sanitation failures were due to mechanical cell door faults that were not identified during the initial surveys. This can give an impression of a regularly failing system, and I wanted to reassure the Board that this is not the case. The remedial works are now being completed alongside progression of the main night sanitation upgrade programme. The new system has given the establishment more flexibility with a better and more equitable queueing process. Following the completion of the works on Charlie and Delta wings, the prisoners have had better access to the recess during the night and complaints have reduced. The project is due for completion by the end of 2022 and has been designed to reduce system failure or damage due to readily available spare parts.

Response
I appreciate the Board’s repeated and ongoing concerns regarding the Care, Separation and Reintegration Unit (CSRU) at HMP Long Lartin and across the wider estate. I can assure the Board that healthcare support, including mental health and psychosocial interventions, is available for all those housed in the segregation unit with regular reviews to monitor any impact of segregation on physical and mental health and wellbeing. Prisoners that present with deterioration in their mental health indicating a need for higher intensity support or referral to secure mental health services are supported within the inpatient facilities with care co-ordination from a named clinician to support recovery/transfer. Locally at HMP Long Lartin, the staff work hard to try and motivate prisoners held in the CSRU to return to mainstream locations. Prison Offender Managers are consulted for progressive pathways in line with respective sentence management requirements, with the Pathway to Progression team involved for more complex prisoners. If it becomes clear a transfer out of the establishment is required, the population management team at headquarters facilitate the move, however this can be very challenging due to the population pressures across the specialist Long Term and High Security Estate sites.

Response
Regarding delays in transferring prisoners to secure hospitals, across the Midlands region, NHS England and NHS Improvement lead on fortnightly calls with commissioners, prison healthcare providers, secure unit providers and secure unit case managers to continue to provide a regular forum to discuss patients and escalate areas where there are concerns and delays supporting prioritisation for those with urgent needs as well as enabling timely remissions. Additionally, the transfer and remissions of adult prisoners under the Mental Health Act (1983) Good Practice Guidance was published in June 2021. The guide sets out the performance matrix, and I can confirm referrals to secure hospitals are monitored at regional and national levels. Average waiting times are improving however Covid-19 and associated restrictions continue to have an effect on waiting times.

Response
The contract is being robustly monitored and managed, however the contractor (Amey) and the contracts management team acknowledge that the site is not performing as it should be. A monthly contract performance meeting is in place and an action plan to improve the delivery has been requested. A full site condition survey is programmed for this calendar year. Thereafter bids will be submitted to seek funding for any highlighted improvements/asset replacement if they are not already within the capital building programme.

Response
NHS England and Improvement have confirmed that should a prisoner require a specific mattress for clinical reasons this would be considered by the healthcare provider in partnership with the prison and social care providers.

Response
The new Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework is currently going through the necessary clearance processes and is expected to be published later this year. The Framework aims to ensure that property is handled with efficiency, care and respect and that staff and prisoners are clear on the arrangements in place. It provides clear requirements and strengthens guidance on known problem areas, including stronger volumetric control limits so that prisoners do not build up excessive amounts of property. Locally at HMP Long Lartin, relaxed property allowances during the Covid-19 temporary regimes contributed to the amount of property prisoners accumulated throughout this period. Checks and monitoring resumed in November 2021. To address issues with the amount of stored property being held in Reception, the staff plan to write to all prisoners who are non-compliant with regulations and/or those who have excessive stored property and give them the option to send it out to family or friends, hand it out on visits, or to send for off-site storage at the central facility (Branston). Although currently there is disparity in policy between some of the other prisons within the Long Term and High Security Estate, efforts are being made to align policies where possible.

Response
A full site condition survey is programmed for this calendar year. Thereafter bids will be submitted to seek funding for any highlighted improvements/asset replacement if they are not already within the capital building programme.