Leeds

Can the Minister seek assurances that more special hospital beds will be made available and within what timeframe? Also, that liaison and diversion schemes are fully implemented and resourced.

Secure hospital capacity is managed by NHS England and I can confirm that Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services have been fully operational in West Yorkshire since 2014 as part of the national pilot project. At the end of the pilot in April 2019, procurement was undertaken for L&D services across the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside, which covers Police Custody and Courts. These contracts have subsequently been reviewed and contract extensions awarded for a further three years until March 2024. All L&D services across the north east of England and Yorkshire (including Humberside) successfully completed a Commissioning for Quality & Innovation (CQUIN) project in 2020/2021 to develop relationships and information sharing pathways with all reception prisons across the region and is monitored by NHSE England and Improvement (NHSE&I) on a quarterly basis. The L&D services also have good relationships with community services, including mental health, and are able to access information for court reports etc. as required. Referral pathways are now well established across the region. Regarding mental health transfers, the NHSE&I Access Assessment Guidelines (2019) detail the process for assessment and admission for individuals referred to and deemed appropriate for admission to Secure Mental Health Services. An access assessment is the specialist clinical assessment and formulation of the mental health and risk management needs of an individual. It is used to inform decisions about the most appropriate inpatient placement for the person in terms of their care and treatment needs and the level of security required if admission is felt to be clinically indicated. This includes people with a diagnosis of Autism and/or Leaning Disabilities. Referrals can be assessed urgently, with a 48-hour timeline, and a verbal response given 24 hours after this and a written response within five working days. On 1 October 2021, future commissioning of secure mental health beds will transfer to Lead Providers in the NHS collaboratives.

Is the Minister aware of this situation and could he comment on what is being done to relieve the situation of detainees?

The situation with immigration detainees has not been forgotten. I am pleased to confirm that the rollout for Phase 2 of the Detained Immigration Appeals (Hendon) process started on 26 July 2021. This includes the introduction of video conferencing as an option to Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) for First Tier Tribunal hearings. The pilot will include HMPs Huntercombe, Maidstone and Highpoint. The criteria for this phase of the pilot remains the same, where all cases prior to the Early Release Scheme or those who are within six months of their Conditional Release Date/Earliest Release Date are suitable. The current plan is to go live in HMPs Moorland and The Mount in October, and then at HMP Risley around January 2022. It will then be a full year (plus evaluation) before the Hendon process is rolled out nationally. It is of note that the Home Office’s FNO Team allocated to HMP Leeds maintained a face-to-face presence at the prison on a weekly basis throughout the pandemic.

Does the Prison Service have any plans to bring about a change to these circumstances?

HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) and I appreciate the disruptions that short sentences cause HMP Leeds and the wider estate. Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts. However, when deciding the sentence, it is an established principle that the court is able to take into account the likely impact of a custodial sentence in an individual case. We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime, and public protection is our priority. It is therefore imperative that judges and magistrates have the power to impose short custodial sentences where they are appropriate and necessary. Custody should nevertheless always be a last resort. If we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences which we are legislating to strengthen. As part of Probation Reform Programme, all Probation Regions will have a short sentence function to work with those serving 10 months and less at point of sentence, and Yorkshire and The Humber probation region is an early adopter area. The aims include sustaining any community services already in place, such as accommodation or engagement with substance misuse services and to fast track into new services based on need. Due to the limited time available, Probation Service staff will engage with people in prison as quickly as possible after sentencing. As short-sentence prisoners often tend to have disruptive behaviour, going forward HMP Leeds aims to house all these prisoners in one bespoke unit offering increased one-to-one support including additional support from the Probation Service referred to earlier.

Will the Governor ensure that staff use BWVC’s at the very start of any incident where use of force is likely to be employed?

Are there plans to increase the numbers of telephones for staff that can access the in-cell telephone system and increase the number of computers for staff?

Is the Governor able to support the healthcare team in their request to the NHS for another nurse to work as part of the reception team?