Styal

Response
It is regrettable that maintenance of the accommodation at the prison remains an ongoing concern. Further to my letter to the Board in January, although a new site manager was recruited, this has not led to expectations being met and is now being managed and monitored jointly by the Governor, Regional Estates Manager, Service Delivery Manager (SDM), and Amey Operations Manager via a monthly Performance Improvement Process meeting. Following a compliance check, an audit score of 80% has been achieved and outstanding works have reduced from 201 items to 56 as of July 2020. As the Board will be aware, Covid-19 has had an effect on delivery across the site with several service companies having to furlough their staff. This is being managed with contingency plans and consequently specialist and emergency repairs were delayed. Although the contractor’s delivery requires improvement, which was not helped by the disruptions caused by the pandemic, progress is being made and several improvements have been made to the site including repairs to the toilets in Reception, perimeter CCTV, replacement cell-call system on Waite wing and replacement boilers in the education and works buildings. Further replacement boilers are planned for Bronte, Bruce, Martin, Mellanby, Oak, Willow and Wilson houses in the coming months.

Response
Turning to safety and security, intelligence indicates that prior to the pandemic women would approach the perimeter fence during free-flow movement and evening time in the open air to retrieve items that had been thrown over the fence. Unfortunately HMP Styal and the remainder of the women’s estate is out of scope for the current Security Investment Programme. However, as mentioned above, CCTV improvements have been made, the Governor has removed free-flow which has reduced access to the perimeter fence, and established a more controlled environment by limiting the number of women allowed during time in open air periods. The Governor has resurrected previous bids for entrance improvements and has asked the Ministry of Justice Estates Team to consider installing a new gate together with a capital investment bid for a new visits building. These plans have been approved but are currently on hold.

Response
I appreciate the Board’s concerns around the need for specialist facilities as a national resource for more complex prisoners. There are no specific plans at present, however, a review of health provision in the women’s estate is currently underway as part of a wider Safety Review. The review will consider whether more specialised units are needed for the most complex women in the system. I would like to reassure the Board that there are strict rules governing segregation. A governor may authorise segregation beyond 72 hours under the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules. Permission from the Secretary of State is required, usually the Prison Group Director (PGD) acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, to continue segregation beyond 42 days. If segregation is to continue beyond 84 days then a further PGD review will take place. Segregation over six months must be authorised by the Director.

Response
Regarding contract negotiations with external maintenance providers and site refurbishments, Amey is required to provide three quotations for all projects valued in excess of £10,000. These quotes are assessed by the SDM to ensure value for money. If it is believed the costs are excessive, the SDM can question this or request additional quotes. Monthly meetings are held with Amey where these issues are raised, discussed and resolved where possible. The sub-contractor’s costs are provided and validated as part of the acceptance process, however, challenges to costs do result in delays. Reactive repair response times are monitored on a monthly basis and currently the response time is reasonable with a completion rate of 92% as at June 2020. As the Board will be aware, all cells on Waite wing have been refurbished and a number of the houses have been fully redecorated. A further £250,000 is being provided to upgrade and improve the showers on the units.

Response
Further to the reply in January, the Board will be pleased to know that the Department for Health’s 2011 Prison Transfer and Remission Guidance has now been refreshed and amended following a comprehensive consultation process during summer 2019 and is awaiting publication. The planned release in March was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Board will be further pleased to know that a whole system review of the women’s estate (England) has been commissioned by the Director of Health and Justice and Armed Forces. The planning for this work was interrupted by the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and has been picked up again recently with terms of reference being developed. The scope of the review will include the criminal justice journey and range from strategies being used as an alternative to prison. NHS Regional Heads of Health and Justice will lead on this and work with HMPPS and Offender Personality Pathway. This is a holistic review of the care that women receive in prison and will include a focus on mental health and the governance of keeping women safe; demand and capacity of mental health; and how risk is identified, managed, and shared across agencies. Regarding provision of services, NHS England conducted a nationally coordinated demand and capacity review of adult medium and low secure services looking at regional intentions in terms of configuration of beds by service with the ambition to ensure that secure in-patient services are situated in the correct geographical location and are delivering the right type of service in a timely manner. This was specifically in relation to mental illness and personality disorder services, aligning with other national work focussing on secure learning disability and autism services, which reflects the ambition in the long-term plan. National and regional teams in NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with NHS-led Provider Collaboratives as the vehicle for the delivery of these changes. For high-secure provision, a strategic commissioning plan will be developed by April 2021. This will describe the clinical model, pathways and capacity required for implementation during 2021/22.

Response
The ingress of drugs has been discussed at the prison’s Senior Management Team Strategic Meeting and the Head of Security at HMP Styal is now leading their drugs strategy. Prior to the pandemic, HMP Styal increased drug testing frequency together with suspicion drug testing and there were early signs of progress. This has now become difficult to measure following the suspension of Mandatory Drug Testing as a result of Covid-19. HMP Styal has also re-profiled the staff groups and there are now dedicated movements officers which has enabled the prison to remove free-flow around the site making it difficult for prisoners to gain access to the perimeter fence. Additionally the establishment has engaged in negotiations with NHS commissioners and the drug recovery team to acquire a 7-day drug intervention service. Plans are also in place to open one house as the drug recovery/substance-free living unit.