Rye Hill

The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on progression of IPP prisoners has again highlighted the difficulty for those extensively over tariff to gain a successful parole hearing. For a lot of these prisoners the length of time served compared with a typical determinate sentence for the same offence appears to be very unfair and it is hoped that exceptional proactive support to resolve this situation will be included in the recovery plan.

I appreciate the Board’s ongoing concerns about prisoners serving the indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP). As the Board will be aware, the IPP sentence was abolished in late 2012 by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. This abolition was not applied retrospectively as the Government at the time took the view it would not be right to alter sentences that had been lawfully imposed prior to their abolition. This means that the Parole Board will grant those prisoners serving the IPP sentence release only once the Board has concluded that it is no longer necessary for the purposes of public protection for them to remain confined to custody.
Although Covid-19 continues to present a unique set of challenges, I would like to reassure you that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) remain committed to doing all it can to support the progression of IPP sentenced prisoners to the point where the Parole Board determines that they may be safely released. The IPP Action Plan referred to in last year’s response continues to deliver a substantial reduction in the number of IPP prisoners who have never been released. That number stood at 1,722 at the end of June 2021, a reduction from 1,969 at the end of June 2020. To continue this progress, the IPP Action Plan includes psychology work stream consultancy/case file reviews (CFRs) and prioritises IPP prisoners in custody where they have failed to make any progress after two or more post-tariff parole hearings. These reviews reinvigorate cases that are not progressing and, where necessary, with consultation, practitioners agree and identify appropriate individual progression pathways. HMPPS also continues to monitor Progression Regimes at four prisons across the country that are dedicated to progressing IPP prisoners struggling to achieve release via the usual routes.
As mentioned in last year’s response, it is important to note that as the number of IPP prisoners who have never been released continues to decrease, the proportion of those who remain in prison who committed more serious offences and whose cases are complex grows. These prisoners are still assessed to pose a high risk of committing further violent or sexual offences and have a complex set of risks and needs and these must be addressed before the Parole Board can consider release. This is not a simple task, and we continue to work with these individuals to offer them opportunities to reduce their identified risks. For these reasons, there are some prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have spent a significant number of years in custody after completing their tariff.

There still remain too many prisoners requiring specialist support for mental health issues not being able to access appropriate places. This applies to both those requiring secure hospital settings and those with a personality disorder diagnosis. Although the moratorium on transfers may account for some delays in transferring this category of prisoners, a bigger cause appears to be the inadequate number of places within healthcare settings and across the estate.

Further to last years’ response, it is regrettable that individuals have had long waits for transfer to secure hospital. Throughout the pandemic in 2020, and the early part of 2021, there have been frequent closures within the mental health hospital estate, such as Rampton and St Andrews Northampton, due to positive Covid-19 cases. This has resulted in many patients incurring significant delays to admission and as a result, once restrictions were lifted, there were significant waiting lists for beds. This is part of the Restoration and Recovery of services across the healthcare sector.
In order to proactively manage and support reductions in the waiting times for admission to secure hospital, NHS England Health and Justice (Midlands) Governance team and Commissioners have developed a Clinical Case review meeting that takes place every two weeks. This is clinically led and seeks to proactively manage those waiting for secure beds through dynamic risk assessment (every case on the waiting list is required to be risk assessed every two weeks). The meeting covers the whole Midlands Region and incorporates all patients who have exceeded the 28-day timeframe. This is a multi-agency meeting to ensure that a whole systems approach to supporting the most vulnerable and high-risk patients is adopted. Patients can move up and down this list dependent on their presenting risks. These meetings have impacted positively on the waiting list.
It should be noted that the pathway into secure beds is complex and that the responsibility for the commissioning and provision of high, medium and low services sits within NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning team. As such, the provider and HMP Rye Hill are working with multiple teams and constraints, and within the confines of services not commissioned by NHS England Health and Justice.

Although we acknowledge the focus of the prison remains on accepting prisoners requiring accredited programmes, we would like to repeat our encouragement from last year that the list of education courses offered continues to include adequate personal and social development courses that can support progression for the lower-risk prisoners not suitable for accredited programmes.