Morton Hall

Response
You have raised an important question regarding the increase in the number of prisoners at HMP Morton Hall who have declared a disability and how this may impact on prison resources. The increase in disability declaration rates stems from the increase in recording of a prisoner’s neurodiversity and/or additional learning needs including in cases where there may be no formal medical diagnosis. There has therefore not been a substantial increase in demand to support disabled prisoners. The prison has responded positively by recruiting a new Neurodiversity Practitioner to the Healthcare Department who is able to both diagnose conditions and provide support to people with learning disabilities. This is also enabling the prison to maintain an overview of any increased demand.

Response
I empathise with the Board’s frustrations regarding the unacceptable levels of property losses or delays when a prisoner is transferred. It is an issue that is frequently raised across the prison estate and as such is something to which HMPPS is currently giving further attention. Careful consideration is being given to the findings in the IMB national thematic report on how property loss impacts on prisoners, as well as those received from Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations following a thematic review of the property complaints they have received in the last five years. Since receiving the reports, Governors and other senior leaders have been reminded of the most important property handling points. This includes the need to ensure compliance with volumetric control limits. HMP Morton Hall has recognised that it has not always effectively managed these previously and as such there have been delays as excess property has been sent separately. Within the last three months, new processes have been introduced to ensure prisoners only have the volume of property they are allowed and have been given options as to what to do with additional property to reduce the volume when they move on. The reception staff are building relationships with the escort contractor and receiving prisons to improve processes and are now following up missing property from the transferring establishment swiftly. These measures have resulted in HMP Morton Hall seeing a significant reduction in the number of complaints about follow on property for Q1 2025/26 compared to Q1 2024/25.

Response
Regarding the question you raise in terms of Home Office processing, since my response to your last annual report in September 2024, the Government has laid legislation to expand the Early Removal Scheme (ERS). This will enable the deportation of Foreign National Offenders (FNO) sooner. It is estimated that this will reduce demand by up to 500 prison places per year based on current removal rates. HM Prison and Probation Service is investing £5 million for 82 new FNO specialist roles in prisons to both identify offenders who want to leave the UK and ensure the speedier deportation of prisoners who have no right to be in this country. The Government’s sharpened focus on this issue is already making a difference in that we have seen a 10% increase in ERS returns between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, compared to the same period 12 months prior.

Response
I empathise with the Board’s frustrations regarding the unacceptable levels of property losses or delays when a prisoner is transferred. It is an issue that is frequently raised across the prison estate and as such is something to which HMPPS is currently giving further attention. Careful consideration is being given to the findings in the IMB national thematic report on how property loss impacts on prisoners, as well as those received from Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations following a thematic review of the property complaints they have received in the last five years. Since receiving the reports, Governors and other senior leaders have been reminded of the most important property handling points. This includes the need to ensure compliance with volumetric control limits. HMP Morton Hall has recognised that it has not always effectively managed these previously and as such there have been delays as excess property has been sent separately. Within the last three months, new processes have been introduced to ensure prisoners only have the volume of property they are allowed and have been given options as to what to do with additional property to reduce the volume when they move on. The reception staff are building relationships with the escort contractor and receiving prisons to improve processes and are now following up missing property from the transferring establishment swiftly. These measures have resulted in HMP Morton Hall seeing a significant reduction in the number of complaints about follow on property for Q1 2025/26 compared to Q1 2024/25.

Response
Although funding is currently unavailable to improve the electrical network to allow for industrial machines to be installed, Ministry of Justice Property Services will complete survey work to inform a new capital bid for when additional funding becomes available. In the meantime, HMP Morton Hall have implemented a specific monitoring system of washers and dryers to identify items that need replacing and any areas where improvements can be made to the way in which appliances are managed to extend their life. This will also provide information for a business case should it be deemed value for money to upgrade the electrical supply.

Response
A new walk-in refrigeration unit was installed in the main kitchen in July 2025, improving the space available to keep items cool and fresh. The current kitchen blast chiller, which is necessary for chilling food items within ninety minutes as per Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is, despite being old, still serviceable and in good order. It has become more apparent during warmer months or periods of extreme heat that additional blast chiller space is required to ensure compliance does not slip. This will be sought when funding streams become available. As a contingency, HMP Morton Hall can hire equipment if repairs or replacements are not quickly available.

Response
The CJSM webmail service is provided to IMBs to facilitate the communication of sensitive information in a secure manner. The service is owned and administered by the Ministry of Justice and was developed to allow official non-MoJ personnel to securely communicate directly with official email addresses. The service is intentionally designed to restrict access and limit communication to specific email domains, ensuring a secure and closed network for handling sensitive information. Since CJSM is owned by the MoJ, the @justice.gov.uk domain used by staff is recognised as secure. This means those using CJSM accounts can send information to, and receive information from, HMPPS staff. The system is designed to ensure that IMB members working in HMPPS establishments can communicate effectively with staff within those sites. It functions successfully across all 107 other Boards operating in public sector HMPPS locations, where staff use the @justice.gov.uk email domain, a domain recognised as secure and compatible with CJSM. If there is a site-specific issue at HMP Morton Hall, the IMB Staff team will seek clarification on this.

Response
A review of library services at HMP Morton is currently being undertaken by the functional head and contract holder. They are currently focusing on delivery, in particular staffing, in line with regime priorities and on maximising prisoner uptake and engagement. The current model of library staffing aligns with regime hours, which pulls prisoners away from education and work. A library service that operates in the evenings and at weekends, would optimise footfall and opportunity for library attendance away from the pull of regime demands, however this would involve identifying additional HMPPS staff for supervision. Staffing to cover annual leave is not costed within the contract, which does leave it closed for four weeks a year whilst annual leave is taken. With limited funds and potential budgetary streamlining in the future, a staffing arrangement that involves more than one library staff member, working both part-time, and more flexibly (away from core regime hours) would be the ideal solution to this issue.