Elmley

I fully understand the Board’s concerns about the number of prisoners that arrive at HMP Elmley with a mental health diagnosis. We recognise that providing the right interventions at the right time is vital to improving outcomes for people with mental ill health. The Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service (L&D) provides early intervention for vulnerable people as they come in to contact with the criminal justice system. L&D also acts as a point of referral and a follow up for service users to ensure they can access, and are supported to attend, treatment and rehabilitation appointments.
Overall, L&D services aim to improve health outcomes and to support people in the reduction of re-offending, reduce unnecessary use of police and court time, ensure that health matters are dealt with by healthcare professionals, and reduce health inequalities for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The L&D services are adequately resourced to provide the commissioned services. This has been enhanced by additional funding being accessed for Peer Support Workers and the roll out of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTR), which allows judges to divert people into treatment services, including mental health treatment, through community orders designed to address the underlying causes of their offending. We are expanding the CSTR programme.
Regarding the effectiveness of L&D, we have seen positive benefits from the implementation of the national model such as an increase in the total number of people being identified with vulnerabilities, mental health needs, substance misuse and learning disabilities. Likewise, the increase in relevant and timely information available to police, courts and partner agencies allows for quicker availability of information and enhances magistrates’ and police officers’ confidence in their decision making and, in some instances, this has accelerated processes. NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) intend to carry out a review through the L&D service provider of those successfully diverted from prison.

The Prison Group Director for Kent, Surrey and Sussex shares the Board’s views on this matter and the Governor does not intend to bring this system back in to operation. However, this will be subject to national population pressures.

As part of the national reconfiguration project, HMP Elmley will transition to a new function providing Reception/Category C Trainer/Category C Resettlement services ultimately leading to long sentenced Category B prisoners being moved to other more appropriate prisons. This transition is currently under way.
When it comes to prisoners serving indeterminate sentences (both life and imprisonment for public protection), HMPPS remains committed to doing all it can to support their progression and reduce their risk, to the point where the independent Parole Board determines that they may be safely released.
All indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs) should be located at an establishment best placed to meet their sentence planning needs in terms of interventions, and prison staff will seek out suitable locations for ISPs who are assessed as needing to access certain interventions in other prisons, as promptly as is reasonably possible. ISPs may have their parole reviewed at least every two years, depending on the specifics of individual cases, and may transfer during a parole review if it is to access a progression opportunity and providing it does not disrupt an impending parole hearing date. Prisons should seek out opportunities to progress their indeterminate prisoners at the earliest opportunity following the conclusion of a parole review to increase the chances of a timely and successful transfer.
HMPPS has developed a range of improved management information to assist in identifying which prisoners to prioritise for offending behaviour programmes (OBPs). The courses which are identified for all prisoners, including ISPs, vary by the specific assessed needs of the individuals. HMPPS is currently developing approaches to improve the allocations of prisoners from local prisons to better match their offending behaviour requirements.
There were a total of 67 prisoners assessed and waiting for an OBP in November 2020 as shown below:
• 28 assessed and waiting for Resolve
• 35 assessed and waiting for Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
• 4 waiting for Building Better Relationships (BBR) domestic violence programme
Of these only nine were identified as post tariff ISPs waiting and three near tariff ISPs.
The current combined waiting list for TSP, Resolve and BBR increased to 109 in March 2021 as a result of further assessments being undertaken during Covid-19 restrictions. All these cases will be considered as part of a national prioritisation approach for treatment spaces. In the meantime, a national Gold Regime Panel exists to consider delivery (or transfer for delivery) in exceptional circumstances. There will of course be other prisoners eligible for a programme but whose programme suitability has not been assessed. As of mid-March 2021, there were seven post tariff ISPs assessed as waiting for a programme (Resolve, TSP, Horizon-sex offender strand) and a further three awaiting a programme needs assessment (PNA) to identify treatment pathway.
In addition to the above, it is important to note that recruitment is underway in relation to HMP Elmley’s second line of delivery, in order to address the intimate partner violence need within the population via the BBR programme. Funds have already been agreed and plans for delivery are being considered within the Covid-19 recovery plan(s).