Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help improve transitions between closed and open prisons; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) resources allocated to the open estate, (b) the (i) approvals and (ii) transfer process and (c) measures to safeguard the (A) public and (B) prison officers on those transitions.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are 13 Category D (or “open”) prisons in the adult male prison estate, as well as two open units linked to closed establishments. There are two open prisons in the women’s estate. HM Prison & Probation Service has developed and implemented a ‘National Allocation Protocol’ and ‘National Offender Flows’ to guide prisons on allocating male prisoners from a reception prison to the next-stage establishment. Together, these two documents determine how prisoners are moved, to help ensure that they are in the right prison at the right time during their sentence to access the services they need to manage their risks. Depending on their behaviour and progress, prisoners may be transferred to different prisons with varying security levels, including open conditions. As in the men's estate, women are assigned to the lowest security category appropriate to managing their risks.
There has not been any need to review resources for transitions or the open estate, other than as part of general reviews of staffing levels as and when additional capacity is added. In those cases, the time to recruit additional staff is factored into the process for capacity expansion.
The criteria for transferring prisoners to open conditions ensure that only those whose risk is assessed as suitable will be transferred. This process balances rehabilitation opportunities with public safety concerns.
The safety of prisoners and prison staff is our priority, and measures are in place to assess and manage risks associated with transfers to open conditions.