Lewes

When will the Minister allocate the necessary funds to help upgrade the poor infrastructure at HMP Lewes, and improve living conditions?

An approved schedule of work is now being delivered to improve the living conditions at HMP/YOI Lewes. I am pleased to say that the majority of the cells at the prison have now been refurbished and there is active work on the remainder. Shower upgrades are also underway and further funding has been approved to progress other identified infrastructure work. This includes CCTV upgrades, the perimeter wall project, upgrading site-wide fire systems, and fire doors.

How does the Minister plan to work with colleagues across Government to increase the provision of specialist secure mental health services for offenders with serious mental health problems?

Increasing the provision of specialist mental health services for offenders with serious mental health problems remains a challenge. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to reform the Mental Health Act (1983) and introduce the Mental Health Bill in this parliamentary session. The Mental Health Bill sets out vital reforms to support people with severe mental illness in the criminal justice system with the aim of speeding up access to specialist in-patient care and ensuring that offenders and defendants with severe mental health needs are able to access timely support in the most appropriate setting.

Will the Minister improve access to resettlement and probation services for prisoners held on remand, currently more than half of the prison population at HMP Lewes?

Due to the increase in the remand population, HMP/YOI Lewes has been approved to extend the current accommodation provision which covers all unsentenced prisoners, both remand and those awaiting sentencing. A new remand strategy, which includes a provision of resettlement needs and accommodation support, commenced implementation during September 2024.

Will the Minister review sentencing guidelines to reduce the number of offenders going to prison and length of sentence, and so help relieve pressure on prison spaces?

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales and as such any review of the guidelines is at the Council’s discretion. To address prison population and capacity pressures, the Government has already enacted policy to reduce the time those sentenced to standard determinate sentences (SDS) serve in prison from 50% to 40% of that sentence. This measure, known as SDS40, will not apply to prisoners sentenced for sex offences and certain offences of domestic abuse, and will also exclude serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more. This ensures prison is reserved for the most dangerous offenders. We will continue to assess the impact of these measures on the prison population.

Will the Minister reverse last year’s rejection by Government of the House of Commons justice committee’s recommendation that remaining IPP prisoners should be re-sentenced and bring forward legislation to commute IPP sentences to determinate ones?

I understand the Board’s continued concerns about prisoners subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. The Lord Chancellor has announced that from November 2024, anyone who was released on IPP licence five or more years ago and has spent at least the last two years of that period in the community without being recalled, will have their IPP licence terminated without the need for a review by the Parole Board. The Secretary of State will also have two new ‘Risk Assessed Recall Review’ powers. The first enables her to not reset the two-year period after someone is re-released from a recall. Secondly, she will be able to re-release people who have been recalled at any point without referring the case to the Parole Board. These measures will make an overall difference to the number of IPP prisoners held across the estate and mark a positive first step. The Lord Chancellor and I are committed to making progress towards a safe and sustainable release for those continuing to serve an IPP sentence whilst ensuring that protection of the public is not compromised. Area Executive Directors for England and Wales will continue to develop and implement operational IPP delivery plans that will improve front line support to help those serving IPP sentences achieve the objectives within their sentence plans and move towards a prospective safe and sustainable release.

Urgently improve living conditions at HMP Lewes through better repair and maintenance services.

Performance measures indicate that the contractor, Government Facilities Services Limited, has been performing to a good level and compliant in completing the planned maintenance work at HMP/YOI Lewes. However, it is recognised that reactive work is sometimes delayed. The Ministry of Justice is supporting the Governor to help improve living conditions through a Local Asset Manager team. This is a rehabilitative project initiated by the Governor which is working well in progressing flooring and painting and decorating projects. The Lewes Assurance and Multi Skilled (LAMS) prisoner teams on each wing have also been expanded and 60% of all cells at the prison have now been refurbished and work is ongoing on the remaining 40%.

Increase funding to help improve and extend education and skills development at HMP Lewes.

Education funding is set as part of a national formula which considers prison type and population. In view of the overarching funding pressure on education, it is not expected that additional funds will be allocated to HMP/YOI the Lewes to support improvements. Since April 2024, the prison has however sought to maximise the education budget and now has an Employment Advisory Board and implemented a new curriculum to best meet the needs of the population. Education attendance has continued to improve over this reporting period.

The Board welcomes the new opportunities for purposeful activity but asks for new steps to increase time out of cell, especially when purposeful activity is not available.

The situation has improved, but the Board still considers that the regime is too limited, especially at weekends. See later in this report for details. In spring 2024, the establishment’s senior management team started to review staff profiling arrangements.

The Board welcomes improvements in the new prisoner induction process but asks for an end to the practice of using F wing as a first night overspill.

The new prison induction process has improved. There has been a considerable increase in new reception prisoners, which the induction wing/first night centre could not always accommodate, so F wing, which houses vulnerable prisoners, continued to be used as a first night centre. The Board sees this as inappropriate.

Given the increase in incidents of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and self-harm, the Board asks for extra steps to encourage good behaviour and to improve the management of ACCTs.

The Board asks for new measures to reduce the availability of illicit drugs and alcohol across the prison.