Morton Hall

Can the Minister consider how to address the additional impact on the prison resource from the increase in the number of prisoners declaring a disability (5.4.6)? Will this be a priority for increased funding?

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.

Can the Minister please institute a review of the transfer of prisoners’ property? An unacceptable amount goes missing in transfer from institutions or takes a long time to reach the new prison (5.8).

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.

Can the Minister please consider how to speed up Home Office processing on the Early Release Scheme and for prisoners beyond their conditional release date (CRD, automatic release point when release is subject to a licence / supervision)? Our view is that this would be a cost-saving measure and reduce the pressure on the prison system (7.3.3-7.3.5).

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.

The transfer of prisoners’ property between prisons accounts for 16% of complaints (appendix A). An unacceptable amount goes missing in transfer from institutions or takes a long time to reach the new prison (5.8). Can the service review the entire process and institute targets and a tracing process?

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.

Many of the appliances such as washers and dryers in the smaller units break frequently as, in those locations, only domestic grade machines can be used. Could funding be provided to upgrade the equipment? (5.1.2)

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.

Fridges and freezers (5.1.7) in the kitchens are old and break down frequently (a new walk-in fridge freezer was funded within the 24/25 financial year, but delays caused by Amey projects (the infrastructure provider) prevented this from being installed. However, it has been luck that has prevented lack of capacity leading to deterioration of food, so could the replacement of the other old appliances be considered?

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.

Our communication with the prison personnel is hampered due to the use of two different email systems within the prison service. Can a solution be found (8.1.1)?

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.

The library at HMP Morton Hall, like other prison libraries, is under-resourced in terms of staffing, resulting in unanticipated closures or reduced trolley service. Can the HMPPS consider reviewing the resource for this essential rehabilitative function (7.1.4)?

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.

Can the Governor please monitor the extent of purposeful activity in the care and separation unit (CSU, for segregating prisoners)? Particularly, the IMB would like to see more books and education materials made available (5.2.1).

The role of the prison offender manager (POM) has featured in a number of our applications (prisoners’ written representations to the IMB) this year. Can the Governor please consider how to enhance quality in this area (5.3.2)?

43 out of 169 (25%) complaint responses didn’t meet the 1st target date. An extension is permitted if a prisoner is notified with the reason and 23 (14%) were answered within this time frame. 20 (12%) were not answered in the extended time frame (5.7). Can the Governor ensure that when functional heads receive complaints, they know they are expected to return them within the expected timeframe?

The Bistro is missing an important training opportunity in that allocated prisoners are being under-utilised. Can the Governor address the training that takes place in this venue (7.2)?