Whitemoor

Response
It was regrettable to hear of the Board’s ongoing dissatisfaction with the configuration of the High Security Estate and the concern some Category B prisoners are being held in restrictive Category A conditions at HMP Whitemoor. At the point of allocation into a Long Term and High Security Estate (LTHSE) prison, the risk presented by each Category B prisoner is assessed, with only those prisoners found to require dispersal conditions being sent to dispersal prisons. Whist there, Category B prisoners are not subject to the same level of security as Category A prisoners and do not suffer any detriment to their regime, which is like that of a Category B training prison. Prisoners can progress to a Category B training prison when they have demonstrated that their risk has been reduced and it was pleasing to see that you acknowledged progressive moves had taken place especially in the last quarter of the reporting year.

Response
HMPPS is committed to rehabilitation and taking the right approach, for the right person at the right time. This includes how we deliver meaningful and rehabilitative regimes for all those in custody and improving regimes is a HMPPS national prison delivery priority for 2024/25. Core expectations have been developed for regime delivery and launched via the National Regime Model (NRM), and all LTHSE sites have provided a national regime planning document in line with these core expectations. Governors and Prison Group Directors (PGD’s) have verified that these are the best possible response to local needs and national expectations within the individual prison and in line with an establishment needs analysis. The regime planning documents outline foundation core expectations for each establishment. These include time spent in the open air and out of cell, identified purposeful activity places (in line with the HMPPS definition of purposeful activity) including number of prisoners who can access the activity and how often, and additional extra-curricular enrichment activity. These documents are a comprehensive guide to the activities that take place within each prison. Rehabilitation services take many forms, ranging from accredited programmes and interventions, to enabling a person to access education, healthcare, substance misuse support, suitable accommodation, and the means to earn a living when they are released. These activities contribute to the engagement and settlement of long-term prisoners within the estate, focusing on personal development, supporting careers in custody and the understanding of progression outside of categorisation. Following a Director General of Operations request, all LTHSE regime planning documents were reviewed during September 2024 by establishments. Reviewed targets under the new purposeful activity measures and core expectations will be monitored during quarterly performance assurance report meetings with the PGD. Establishments will continue to monitor progression against measures via the HMPPS Performance Hub and the Regime Dashboard.