Hindley

I note the Board’s concern regarding the level of substance misuse, the availability of weapons and the routes through which illicit items continue to enter the establishment, including the effectiveness of searching arrangements at the main gate. The threat posed by illicit items remains a significant challenge across the prison estate and requires a coordinated response at local, regional and national level. At HMP/YOI Hindley, this includes a multi-agency approach involving the Counter Drone Taskforce, Police and regional intelligence teams to identify and disrupt supply routes. Targeted operational activity has been undertaken to address drone enabled ingress, including a coordinated intensification period focused on vulnerabilities within the establishment. This work has contributed to a reduction in reported drone activity over the reporting period. Alongside this, action is being taken locally to strengthen searching capability. This includes increasing Enhanced Gate Security capacity and expanding the use of both routine and intelligence-led searching, supported by additional staffing resource. Work is also underway to improve infrastructure and processes to enhance the effectiveness of gate security over time. At a national level, investment continues in a range of security measures, including counter-drone capabilities and enhanced gate security arrangements, supported by intelligence-led activity to respond to evolving threats.

The volume of education delivered through core contracts has reduced across the estate due to increased delivery costs and wider inflationary pressures affecting the Prisoner Education Service. This has resulted in a reduction in commissioned education places at HMP/YOI Hindley. Core education forms one element of a broader education, skills and work offer. Governors retain flexibility to allocate provision and commission activity to meet the needs of their population, including vocational training, workshops and enrichment activity. The establishment has taken steps to increase overall activity capacity by reconfiguring workshop provision to expand part-time opportunities, enabling a greater number of prisoners to access purposeful activity. Work is ongoing to secure additional commercial contracts to make use of available workshop space. A business case has been submitted to develop further workshop capacity on the site of a disused residential unit, which would provide additional activity places if approved. Additional opportunities are also being explored through the use of under-utilised classroom space and the development of enrichment provision. Allocation and attendance are monitored daily to maximise participation and ensure available activity places are used effectively. At a national level, delivery continues to be monitored through contract management arrangements, supported by ongoing evaluation of the Prisoner Education Service to inform future commissioning and policy decisions.