We recognise that improvements need to be made at HMP Hull, which as noted by the report, has been significantly impacted by Covid. A robust plan is in place to improve standards and outcomes. As COVID risks reduce, the prison plans further to open up the regime to enable prisoner progression while keeping prisoners and staff safe; and healthcare improvements are being driven through a new Health improvement and assurance board. We agree with the Chief Inspector’s assessment that this is a time of potential and opportunity for the prison.

An action plan will be published in due course which will set out the actions being taken to address the recommendations.

As at 31st March 2019, the average length of service for a prison officer at HMP Hull was 12.4 years.

The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. Prison Officers Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (includes specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We have improved induction processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new recruits remain in the service.

The Government publishes its Safety in Custody National Statistics bulletin on a quarterly basis, which covers deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales.

The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018.

Information about assaults and serious assaults on staff up to December 2018 can be found by selecting the relevant table in the ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ link. The table is set out by prison and year, and monthly breakdowns can be found by using the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ functions at the top of the table.

assaults on staff table 3.15

assaults on prisoners table 3.16

serious assaults on staff table 3.18

serious assaults on prisoners table 3.19

Violence in prisons remains unacceptably high but there are early signs that we are making progress. Eight of the jails involved in the ‘10 Prisons Project’ saw falls in the final quarter of 2018 – four of them by more than 25% - while the number of assaults across the estate reduced by 11%.

Across the prison estate we have invested an additional £70m in a raft of measures designed to improve safety, security and decency – including body-scanners, enhanced searches and new investigative teams – while the 4,700 additional staff we have recruited since October 2016 are making a real difference.

The Government publishes its Safety in Custody National Statistics bulletin on a quarterly basis, which covers deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales.

The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018.

Information about assaults and serious assaults on staff up to December 2018 can be found by selecting the relevant table in the ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ link. The table is set out by prison and year, and monthly breakdowns can be found by using the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ functions at the top of the table.

assaults on staff table 3.15

assaults on prisoners table 3.16

serious assaults on staff table 3.18

serious assaults on prisoners table 3.19

Violence in prisons remains unacceptably high but there are early signs that we are making progress. Eight of the jails involved in the ‘10 Prisons Project’ saw falls in the final quarter of 2018 – four of them by more than 25% - while the number of assaults across the estate reduced by 11%.

Across the prison estate we have invested an additional £70m in a raft of measures designed to improve safety, security and decency – including body-scanners, enhanced searches and new investigative teams – while the 4,700 additional staff we have recruited since October 2016 are making a real difference.

The Government publishes its Safety in Custody National Statistics bulletin on a quarterly basis, which covers deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales.

The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018.

Information about assaults and serious assaults on staff up to December 2018 can be found by selecting the relevant table in the ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ link. The table is set out by prison and year, and monthly breakdowns can be found by using the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ functions at the top of the table.

assaults on staff table 3.15

assaults on prisoners table 3.16

serious assaults on staff table 3.18

serious assaults on prisoners table 3.19

Violence in prisons remains unacceptably high but there are early signs that we are making progress. Eight of the jails involved in the ‘10 Prisons Project’ saw falls in the final quarter of 2018 – four of them by more than 25% - while the number of assaults across the estate reduced by 11%.

Across the prison estate we have invested an additional £70m in a raft of measures designed to improve safety, security and decency – including body-scanners, enhanced searches and new investigative teams – while the 4,700 additional staff we have recruited since October 2016 are making a real difference.

The Government publishes its Safety in Custody National Statistics bulletin on a quarterly basis, which covers deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales.

The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018.

Information about assaults and serious assaults on staff up to December 2018 can be found by selecting the relevant table in the ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ link. The table is set out by prison and year, and monthly breakdowns can be found by using the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ functions at the top of the table.

assaults on staff table 3.15

assaults on prisoners table 3.16

serious assaults on staff table 3.18

serious assaults on prisoners table 3.19

Violence in prisons remains unacceptably high but there are early signs that we are making progress. Eight of the jails involved in the ‘10 Prisons Project’ saw falls in the final quarter of 2018 – four of them by more than 25% - while the number of assaults across the estate reduced by 11%.

Across the prison estate we have invested an additional £70m in a raft of measures designed to improve safety, security and decency – including body-scanners, enhanced searches and new investigative teams – while the 4,700 additional staff we have recruited since October 2016 are making a real difference.

The Government publishes its Safety in Custody National Statistics bulletin on a quarterly basis, which covers deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales.

The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018. Information about incidents of self-harm up to December 2018 can be found by selecting table 2.13 in the ‘Self-harm in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ link. The table is set out by prison and year, and monthly breakdowns can be found by using the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ functions at the top of the table.

We are taking steps to reduce self-harm and self-inflicted death levels by rolling out improved suicide and self-harm training for new and existing staff. Over 25,000 staff have received some training and over 14,000 have received training in all six modules.

Violence in prisons remains unacceptably high but there are early signs that we are making progress. Eight of the jails involved in the ‘10 Prisons Project’ saw falls in the final quarter of 2018 – four of them by more than 25% - while the number of assaults across the estate reduced by 11%.

Across the prison estate we have invested an additional £70m in a raft of measures designed to improve safety, security and decency – including body-scanners, enhanced searches and new investigative teams – while the 4,700 additional staff we have recruited since October 2016 are making a real difference.

The Government publishes an Annual Digest that provides a range of detailed statistics and measures for prisons and probation for the financial year, including data on drug tests and finds.

The latest publication covering the 17/18 financial year is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018. Figures on the proportion of positive results for random mandatory drugs tests and the number of incidents where drugs were found for the 17/18 financial year are provided in the table below:

We do not publish monthly breakdowns, however, further information about the proportion of positive results for random mandatory drugs tests can be found by selecting table 7.4 in the ‘Chapter 7 tables – Random mandatory drug testing’ link’.

Further information about the number of incidents where drugs were found can be found by selecting table 9.2 in the ‘Chapter 9 tables – Finds in prison’ link.

These prisons are also part of the 10 Prisons Project which aims to reduce violence in 10 of our most challenging prisons by reducing the supply of drugs; restoring basic decency and providing the training and support for prison officers to challenge the behaviour that drives violence. The project received an initial £10 million funding to improve security and decency, and bolster leadership capability over a 12-month period.

The Government publishes an Annual Digest that provides a range of detailed statistics and measures for prisons and probation for the financial year, including data on drug tests and finds.

The latest publication covering the 17/18 financial year is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018. Figures on the proportion of positive results for random mandatory drugs tests and the number of incidents where drugs were found for the 17/18 financial year are provided in the table below:

We do not publish monthly breakdowns, however, further information about the proportion of positive results for random mandatory drugs tests can be found by selecting table 7.4 in the ‘Chapter 7 tables – Random mandatory drug testing’ link’.

Further information about the number of incidents where drugs were found can be found by selecting table 9.2 in the ‘Chapter 9 tables – Finds in prison’ link.

These prisons are also part of the 10 Prisons Project which aims to reduce violence in 10 of our most challenging prisons by reducing the supply of drugs; restoring basic decency and providing the training and support for prison officers to challenge the behaviour that drives violence. The project received an initial £10 million funding to improve security and decency, and bolster leadership capability over a 12-month period.

HMP Hull created a full-scale replica of Amy Johnson’s Gipsy Moth as part of the Hull City of Culture 2017 programme and the prison’s reducing reoffending initiative.

HMP Hull approached and held discussions about the permanent placement of the replica Gipsy Moth with the City of Culture organisation, Network Rail for the use of Paragon Station, Curator Hull Museums, Museums Registrar (East Riding) and Sewerby Hall before the decision was taken to locate house the replica at Yorkshire Air Museum.

The City of Culture organisation have since been approached by St Stephen’s shopping centre to express an interest in housing the replica model, this is currently being considered.

As at 31 March 2017, the number of prisoners serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in HM Prison Hull was 53.

The independent Parole Board will direct the release of an IPP prisoner who has completed his minimum term (tariff) only where it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the prisoner to be detained in custody on the grounds of public protection.

The precise number of IPPs who access accredited offending behaviour programmes at HMP Hull is determined locally in response to individual circumstances as accredited offending behaviour programmes are not commissioned specifically for IPPs.

We want our prisons to be places where staff and prisoners alike feel safe and secure. The introduction of new ways of working to support prisoners to reform will achieve this while also increasing frontline staff numbers.

Prison governors will be empowered to determine the precise grade mix and deployment of staff into their establishment to meet the individual needs of their specific prisoner population, in line with set minimum service requirements which are aligned to the NOMS Offender Management model. Staff numbers will vary across establishments, dependant on prisoner population and type of prison.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.

This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6 million in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132,000 by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12,000 has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107,000 has been spent on Hull.

The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff—of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff—of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7,000 per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist—and if necessary through external recruitment.

Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.

This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6 million in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132,000 by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12,000 has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107,000 has been spent on Hull.

The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff—of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff—of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7,000 per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist—and if necessary through external recruitment.

Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.

This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6 million in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132,000 by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12,000 has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107,000 has been spent on Hull.

The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff—of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff—of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7,000 per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist—and if necessary through external recruitment.

Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.

This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6 million in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132,000 by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12,000 has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107,000 has been spent on Hull.

The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff—of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff—of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7,000 per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist—and if necessary through external recruitment.

Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.

This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6 million in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132,000 by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12,000 has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107,000 has been spent on Hull.

The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff—of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff—of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7,000 per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist—and if necessary through external recruitment.

Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.