Rochester

The Board believes the speed of change that happened at Rochester prison in the past 12 months has impacted its ability to deliver on the many issues highlighted in the HMIP Report and the resulting Urgent Notification (UN). The Board requests the Minister to provide the resources Rochester needs to enable the necessary improvements to take place. Additionally, to give the prison a period of stability to enable the outcomes from the UN to be achieved.

I fully recognise the Board’s concern about the pace of change at HMP/YOI Rochester and its impact on the prison’s ability to deliver improvements following the Urgent Notification. HMP/YOI Rochester has been identified as requiring targeted support and is prioritised through quarterly strategic meetings. The prison is currently receiving support from a range of external agencies, including a dedicated on-site senior lead and a specialist programme support lead, to help drive sustainable improvements. The transition to a new prisoner cohort was managed in close consultation with the site, on a wing-by-wing approach adopted to maintain operational safety. While the change was necessary to address population pressures, I acknowledge the disruption it caused. To support HMP/YOI Rochester in achieving a period of stability, a permanent governing Governor was appointed in May 2025 and regular senior leadership development days are now in place to build capability and resilience across the leadership team. These measures are designed to provide consistent leadership and operational continuity, enabling the prison to embed the outcomes of the Urgent Notification action plan. Locally, a dedicated lead is supporting the senior team in progressing the inspection action plan and a permanent Head of Education, Skills and Work is now in post. Psychology staff are offering reflective practice sessions to those working with the new cohort of prisoners and further support needs are being assessed. These developments reflect a shared commitment to restoring stability and delivering meaningful change.

The Board draws the Minister’s attention to the statistic in paragraph 7.5.4 as to how few prisoners remain in employment after six weeks from release. Are there plans to address this issue? In addition, while there has been an improvement, more hostel accommodation in the South East for released prisoners is still required.

I note the Board’s concern regarding the low number of prisoners in employment six weeks after release. Supporting prison leavers into meaningful work is a priority I care deeply about. Regional employment councils, including in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, are bringing together businesses, probation services and the Department for Work and Pensions to improve employment pathways for those leaving custody. At HMP/YOI Rochester, the Prison Employment Lead continues to provide tailored support, including assistance with CV development and introductions to local employers. Relationships with businesses such as CC Cousins have led to successful interview opportunities. A self-employment course has been introduced and received positive feedback and a hospitality event has taken place in partnership with Wagamama. A job fair is also being organised to raise awareness of employment opportunities. The Employment Advisory Board is exploring the feasibility of launching a café between HMP/YOI Rochester and Cookham Wood, staffed by prisoners on temporary release. These initiatives reflect a strong commitment to rehabilitation and the belief that every individual should have the opportunity to build a better future. I understand the Board’s continued concern about the availability of hostel accommodation in the South East. In August 2025, the accommodation service bed space allocation for the region was increased from 65 to 86, with a national target of 1350 beds by the end of December 2025. This expansion is being actively pursued. HMP/YOI Rochester benefits from a dedicated Strategic Housing Specialist who works with local authorities, homelessness prevention teams and the newly appointed community accommodation point of contact. This role has helped implement pre-release panels with Medway Council and deliver tenancy readiness courses. Kent, Surrey and Sussex Probation has increased its accommodation provision from 192 to 226 beds, with 174 currently online and more in development. Recognising the need for single placements, particularly for individuals who cannot be housed together, collaborative work continues to progress to secure appropriate accommodation in high-cost areas. Additionally, 28 beds have been co-commissioned for longer-term supported accommodation and a new four-bed facility for integrated offender management cases is due to open in Kent. Rehabilitative services contracts continue to support individuals with housing needs, including those released on the same day as sentencing. While challenges remain, I am encouraged by the collaborative efforts underway and confident that these partnerships will continue to improve housing outcomes for prison leavers.

The Board is again noting that volumetric control of property is not happening. Being a prison from which prisoners are released, Rochester regularly receives property in excess of the volumetric control number. This, in turn, has to be sorted and stored, and is a time-wasting exercise for all concerned. The Board believes it should be implemented more rigorously, or another scheme should be devised and implemented, as indicated in the latest HMPPS response to our previous report.

HMPPS acknowledges the Board’s concerns regarding the handling of prisoners’ property and the ongoing challenges posed by excess volumes. This is an area receiving renewed attention nationally, informed by findings from the Independent Monitoring Board’s thematic report on property loss and the Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations Service’s review of complaints over the past five years. Senior leaders across the estate have been reminded of the key principles of effective property handling, including the importance of compliance with volumetric control limits. Consultation is underway with establishments to explore further improvements. At HMP/YOI Rochester, high volumes of property arriving with incoming prisoners, particularly following the recent change in cohort have presented logistical challenges. While all property is accepted into the prison, the contracted escort provider has a limit per prisoner. Excess items are transferred separately by the sending establishment, which can result in delays and frustration for prisoners. To manage this, prisoners with excess property are advised in writing that they have twenty-eight days to either hand out their stored items via a social visit or send them to a designated address. Work is ongoing to improve the processing of property to ensure it is issued to prisoners in a timely and consistent manner.

The Board understands and supports the reasoning for the re-rolling of the top site at Rochester as a prison for PCoSos, but it was rushed through and creates significant logistical issues for the prison, which will take time to bed down. The Board believes a period of stability is required, without further changes to leadership and functions.

The re-rolling of the top site at Rochester to accommodate prisoners convicted of sexual offences was a significant operational change. While the transition was necessarily swift, it was overseen by a dedicated project manager and supported by staff who adapted exceptionally well to maintain stability. An interim regime was introduced during the transition to ensure a safe and structured environment. Now that the change is complete, two separate regimes are in place for the different cohorts. A review is underway to ensure that the revised regime provides equality of access to education, work and other activities. Education access is currently split with the new cohort attending morning sessions and the remaining population attending in the afternoon. Industries and work areas have been allocated as evenly as possible and regular reviews are helping to ensure that prisoners are placed appropriately. There have been no changes required to staffing as a result of the cohort change. Safeguarding and risk management processes remain robust with alerts raised for known risks and non-associations. Safety meetings are held daily and weekly peer support is available across both cohorts. Two coordinators, one for each group work closely with the safety team to identify emerging risks and trends. Healthcare handover for prisoners with complex needs has been identified as an area requiring further attention. A meeting with Medway Council has taken place to improve social care provision and national guidance on safeguarding and cohort allocation continues to be followed.

While the UN requires improvements to maintenance and repair of accommodation, the view of the Board is that the dilapidated buildings at Rochester continue to deteriorate and are barely meeting acceptable standards of accommodation. It retains the view that Rochester should be completely redeveloped.

The Board’s concerns regarding the condition of the accommodation at HMP/YOI Rochester are noted. While there are no current plans for full redevelopment within the scope of the national prison supply programme, a number of bids have been submitted to improve infrastructure and living conditions. These include proposals for fire safety improvements, refurbishment of showers, replacement of cell windows in several wings and recovery of the education roof. Additional bids have been received for dispensary provision, heating and hot water infrastructure replacement and a new control room for closed-circuit television monitoring. These projects remain in the pipeline and are currently unfunded. HMPPS has committed approximately £930,000 for boiler replacements in two wings and confirmation of a start date is awaited. All bids are considered carefully, with priority given to works that address risk to life, capacity and decency. Locally, significant progress has been made. Pest control visits have increased from monthly to twice weekly, resulting in a substantial reduction in vermin activity. The top site has reported no mouse activity for over four weeks and no rat sightings. The baiting programme is active in all non-prisoner areas and remains undisturbed. The prisoner transformation team has refurbished 95% of the top site, including cells that were initially prepared at pace for the new cohort. Additional work is now underway to enhance these areas further. On the bottom site, the CRED team has begun refurbishing communal spaces. Following the implementation of the new regime, designated time has been allocated for wing cleaning. This has led to a marked improvement in cleanliness standards, supported by assurance checks to maintain consistency.

Many of the themes and concerns in the UN relate to leadership, staff capability and culture. The Board supports the work undertaken so far, and how much has already been achieved, and would like to receive more updates on further plans in this area.

I fully recognise the Board’s concern about the pace of change at HMP/YOI Rochester and its impact on the prison’s ability to deliver improvements following the Urgent Notification. HMP/YOI Rochester has been identified as requiring targeted support and is prioritised through quarterly strategic meetings. The prison is currently receiving support from a range of external agencies, including a dedicated on-site senior lead and a specialist programme support lead, to help drive sustainable improvements. The transition to a new prisoner cohort was managed in close consultation with the site, on a wing-by-wing approach adopted to maintain operational safety. While the change was necessary to address population pressures, I acknowledge the disruption it caused. To support HMP/YOI Rochester in achieving a period of stability, a permanent governing Governor was appointed in May 2025 and regular senior leadership development days are now in place to build capability and resilience across the leadership team. These measures are designed to provide consistent leadership and operational continuity, enabling the prison to embed the outcomes of the Urgent Notification action plan. Locally, a dedicated lead is supporting the senior team in progressing the inspection action plan and a permanent Head of Education, Skills and Work is now in post. Psychology staff are offering reflective practice sessions to those working with the new cohort of prisoners and further support needs are being assessed. These developments reflect a shared commitment to restoring stability and delivering meaningful change.

While there has been some improvement in cell-checks when a prisoner is moved to the CSU, during the reporting year this was still a problem. Can there be a proactive drive to ensure belongings are not lost or taken or misappropriated in these situations?