How to use this guidance

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Upon receipt of this guidance, establishment Governors/Directors should convene a Regime Management Meeting at the earliest opportunity involving recognised local trade unions including H&S representatives, healthcare and all local stakeholders including controllers in PMPs. This meeting should be used to undertake the following priority actions to plan for COVID-19:

  • Ensure that their existing RMP and associated operating procedures remain relevant and are communicated to all staff. These should outline the safe ways of working at all staff levels from patrol state through to full Safe, Decent and Secure Staffing Level (SDSOL) for every area (and should already be in Annex B of each establishment RMP).
  • Develop an ERMP for a reasonable worst case scenario. This should include establishing a plan in line with this guidance on how to safely deliver the 4 Key Regime Priorities:
    • Meals
    • Medication
    • Prisoner safety and welfare
    • Family Contact

This should provide both staff and prisoners with a clear understanding of the expectations of an exceptional regime and the impact this will have on the normal daily operations of the establishment. Guidance is provided on what should be included in each of the 4 areas within this document.

  • Initiate a Defensible Decision Log. A template is included within this guidance. Establishments should record any decisions which are made outside of policy and why it was felt necessary to work in this way. Given the potential spread of the virus, it is likely that current policy will not adequately cover all possible eventualities for managing a prison through the peak of the period. It is good practice to discuss actions outside of policy with the local POA and other recognised trade union representatives.
  • During the COVID-19 situation we are operating in command mode which will see establishment BRONZE report to “regional” SILVER (a number of prisons grouped together) and a dedicated national COVID GOLD.  This command model will form the core line for communication and decision making supplemented as necessary with PGD support around business as usual.
  • For Privately Managed Prisons, the reporting line will remain through their own SILVER arrangements with a dotted line to ‘regional SILVER,’ so the full picture is understood.
  • Where reference is made to SILVER throughout the document, please consider this in the above context of Regional SILVER for PSPs and Provider Silver for PMPs.

There should be two outputs from the Regime Management Meeting:

Output 1: ERMP

All prisons must produce a temporary ERMP for agreement with Regional SILVER (informed by PGDs where possible) by 31st March 2020. The ERMP will outline plans for delivery of four essential regime priorities during the COVID-19 period. ERMP will only cover the period during which Government restrictions around movements and social distancing remain in place or where the establishment cannot reach their MSL. The staffing position will be monitored daily through the COVID-19 command structure and expected return from BRONZE to SILVER and a SILVER return to GOLD.  The strategy will be to return establishments to their pre-existing RMP as soon as possible and only utilise ERMP or specific alternative practices as determined by the emerging operational situation.

ERMP need not be as comprehensive as an existing RMP but must contain a plan for each of the four regime priority areas. Safe operating procedures for reduced staffing in all prisoner facing areas will form part of the existing RMP and should be considered when making ERMP plans for each area. Dynamic, risk based decisions which sit outside of standard processes may be required for managing establishments during COVID-19 and every such decision should be recorded and communicated appropriately.

Output 2: Defensible decision log

As we are entering an unprecedented period of operational pressure, it is also recommended that establishment Governors (BRONZE) open a defensible decision log and keep this open for the duration of the COVID-19 situation. Establishment BRONZE commanders will be required to demonstrate the elements of regime they have committed to deliver locally but also to justify potentially complex decisions not to operate or prioritise other elements. The national defensible decision log template previously provided by NIMU can be utilised for this purpose.

HMPPS is committed to giving Operational Managers within the command structure the space to make informed tactical decisions at a local level within this context but that we have clear visibility around decisions being taken with the right level of escalation based on the issue or risk being managed.  In turn this will allow us to best provide as much support and resource as we can nationally to deliver this.

Operating assumptions

Decisions taken in the context of an ERMP must be clearly focused on the 4 Key Regime Priorities, without regard to the prison performance rating system and in proper response to the operational situation as it emerges. This is understood and supported at all levels of HMPPS and by our Ministers.

Governors/Directors must prioritise the safety of staff and prisoners and the ongoing stability of the establishment above all else during these exceptional circumstances. We appreciate that establishments will have to make difficult decisions about tasks to postpone or stop doing during the COVID-19 period, particularly tasks associated with the security function. Under exceptional circumstances, we accept that prisons may need to cease searching, Accommodation Fabric Checks, MDT and other core security processes to prioritise the four key regime priorities. However prisons must continue to conduct roll checks at the locally required frequency and maintain basic intelligence systems; the latter will be particularly important at times of heightened risk of instability.

The four elements of regime that establishments must prioritise and deliver consistently during ERMP staffing levels are set out below. Establishments need to make a plan for delivering each area during sub-MSL periods. Individual Governors (BRONZE) can determine the look and style of these plans. Prisons should ensure these plans are communicated to all staff and prisoners as required when activated, that plans are widely understood and these are recorded so establishments can present them as they see fit. It is accepted that resource to provide formal plans will be impacted in the same manner as regime delivery through high absence rates. The defensible decision making log must be used in the design of each regime element to record those elements that are not incorporated and why.

It is recognised that whist Youth Custody Services (YCS) will operate under the same Government guidelines as the adult estate, there are some specific differences in working with children which need to be considered. YCS specific guidance is included in Services A-Z of this site.