Kirklevington Grange

Response
I appreciate the Board’s concerns about the transfer of prisoners under the Temporary Presumptive Recategorisation System (TPRS) to fully benefit from the resettlement schemes at the prison. The original TPRS scheme was aimed at prisoners close to release who could safely be moved to open conditions to relieve capacity pressure in the closed estate. The scheme was not designed for prisoners to access Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) and other specialist resettlement provision in the open estate due to the time remaining to complete the required risk assessments. This has now changed with the introduction of TPRS12, allowing prisoners to be moved to open conditions when they have twelve months or less remaining on their custodial sentence. Under TPRS12 these prisoners will then be eligible to be risk assessed for all aspects of the open prison provision including ROTL, education and work. All prisoners moved on TPRS should now be considered for this by the open prison they are transferred to. In 2023, HMP/YOI Kirklevington Grange received sixteen prisoners under the TPRS scheme with each prisoner having between 16 and 69 days left to serve. During such short periods, the focus would be on preparing for release and prisoners are supported by their Prison Offender Manager whilst they engage with resettlement services. My officials have confirmed that TPRS prisoners were identified on arrival at the prison and were prioritised for preparation for resettlement activity. Being in a Category D environment allows more freedom and the ability to independently make appointments with resettlement services, removing the logistical issues that may be present in a closed prison. I know the importance of prisoners being prepared for release. The reducing reoffending team will work with prisoners arriving at HMP/YOI Kirklevington Grange with a short amount of time left to serve to ensure that they are in the best position possible for release. This includes ensuring prisoners have a bank account and ID, their accommodation, and work with the partners to devise a plan for employment or further education on release. All prisoners are allocated to a full-time internal work placement on arrival, and unless retired or medically unfit, they may also engage with education if they have a minimum of 5-6 weeks left to serve. Due to the timescales involved for completing an Offender Assessment System review and processing ROTL assessments, prisoners who have less than twelve weeks left to serve will regrettably not be able to access ROTL before they are released.

Response
I acknowledge though that this impacts on prisoners being able to take full advantage of training schemes, both educational and work related. I also appreciate the increase in prisoners with outside paid employment and have noted the Board’s view that establishing the Employment Advisory Board and the creation of the role of the Prison Employment Lead has been instrumental to this.