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Archives: Reports

Contains details of Reports

HMP Lowdham Grange

What we found

Inspectors returning to Lowdham Grange prison to assess progress after a worrying earlier inspection found levels of violence had increased by 55%, self-harm by 41% and drug use had also risen further. Two men had also taken their own lives, taking the total of self-inflicted deaths at the jail during 2023 to five. And, in the 10 months before the review, 127 staff had also resigned leaving the prison desperately short-staffed.

The situation at the privately run jail was so concerning that the prison service had intervened to take back operational management to try and arrest the prison’s decline, bringing in an experienced governor to work alongside the director as well as prison officers on detached duty.  Prison inspectors did not find an acceptable level of progress in a single one of the concerns that they had raised at the earlier inspection, which was particularly worrying as these focused on safety and public protection.

It’s unprecedented for the prison service to use their power to ‘step in’ and take back control of a privately run prison, so we knew Lowdham was struggling, but even so we were shocked by quite how bad things had got at the jail. The new Governor and the existing Director appeared to be working well together, however, and there was very early evidence that their combined actions since the step-in, had begun to improve things. If this is going to be sustained, it is absolutely vital that the prison continues to read the support it needs from the prison service to maintain adequate staffing and a relentless focus on improving safety, including the serious drug problem at the jail.

Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons
Read the full press release

HMP Feltham B

What we found

In 2023 leaders at Feltham B, formerly a YOI holding men aged 18-21 years old, were told they needed to extend the age range of the prisoners to 30 years in response to national population pressure. This change increased their population by around 40%. The lack of planning meant there was not nearly enough work or education for the prison to deliver its function as a category C training prison. While a well-led offender management unit had worked hard to reduce large backlogs of work, their efforts were undermined by shortfalls in London probation and the increasing number of high risk men into the prison. The use of segregation was high and the unit was in poor condition, with a leaking roof, algae growth in the showers and filthy toilets.

Points to note

A lack of activity spaces, staff shortages and safety concerns among prisoners meant attendance at work was woeful, and just one in five prisoners was employed in activity off the wing. The prison’s poor and unpredictable daily routine was often the cause of violence against staff.

HMP Risley

What we found

HMP Risley is category C resettlement prison in Cheshire, holding about 1,000 male prisoners including a large proportion of men convicted of sexual offences. After a disappointing inspection in March, the review found substantial and measurable progress in every area of concern.

Living conditions had improved and all prisoners now had more time out of cell with a broader and more meaningful range of activities which were well attended. Offending behaviour programmes for men convicted of sexual offences were now available, which had been a major criticism in the earlier inspection. Increased staffing in the offender management unit allowed for one-to-one work with those prisoners not on formal programmes.

Points to note

Care for those at risk of self-harm had improved, however, rates of self-harm remained stubbornly high.

HMP Bedford

We issued an Urgent Notification for this prison on 15 November 2023.

Read the Bedford Urgent Notification

Bedford healthy prison scores

What we found

An inner-city, Victorian reception prison, Bedford held prisoners in some of the worst conditions inspectors have seen. Filthy floors and serveries compounded the overcrowded conditions in which most prisoners were held, while many cells had broken furniture and windows and were covered in graffiti. Some cells were damp and had problems with mould, and on days of heavy rain the segregation unit ran with sewage. The jail was also battling infestations with rats and cockroaches.

Some of the accommodation in Bedford was the worst I have seen. The smell of mould in one cell was overpowering, with the walls damp to the touch, while the underground segregation unit, which held acutely mentally unwell men, was a disgrace. If our prisons are truly going to protect the public, then they must be able to play their part in supporting men and women to move on from offending. Penning people in squalor for 23 hours a day with no meaningful access to education, training or work, or to fresh air or exercise is not going to achieve that, as the levels of violence and self-harm at Bedford attest.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Inspectors were particularly concerned about the increase in levels of self-harm and the fragility of the support for the most vulnerable prisoners, particularly as there had been a serious deterioration in mental health services. Levels of violence remained very high, particularly assaults on staff which were among the highest in the country. Much of this was the result of the limited time that prisoners had out of cell to escape their terrible living conditions in the fresh air and with anything meaningful to occupy their time.

Read the full press release
Easy read summary
(PDF, 670 KB)
Population profile
(PDF, 147 KB)
Prisoner survey methodology and results
(PDF, 376 KB)
Prisoner survey analysis – Excel workbook
(XLSX, 400 KB)
Staff survey methodology and results
(PDF, 194 KB)

Action plan

HM Prison and Probation Service Action Plan
(PDF, 349 KB)

The long wait: A thematic review of delays in the transfer of mentally unwell prisoners

Against a backdrop of rising prison populations and frailties in staffing, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, in partnership with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), undertook this thematic to scrutinise the delays in people accessing care, so that the reasons can be understood and addressed. The review involved fieldwork at 21 prisons to examine the conditions in which those awaiting transfer to a secure hospital are held. We also reviewed the case notes of patients to understand when delays occurred and why.

When we think of prisons, we assume they are full of those who have committed crimes for which they are being held accountable or those awaiting a court judgement. Yet they remain a legal ‘place of safety’ which can be used when there is no suitable provision in the community. Our prisons continue to hold a number of very seriously mentally unwell men and women.

All too often, I meet prison officers and health professionals struggling to care for these patients. To be clear, we are not talking about those who have the will and capacity to accept support during a mental health crisis or when they are at risk of self-harm. These include people whose psychosis or paranoid delusions can make them so violent they are held in isolation in the segregation unit, requiring multiple officers to unlock them just to deliver their meals. Or those so driven to harming themselves they have repeatedly blocked their own airways with bedding, removed teeth or maimed themselves to the point of exposing their own intestines, frequently causing life-changing injuries.

Treatment, assessment and care for patients under the Mental Health Act (MHA) cannot legally be provided in prisons or anywhere outside of a secure hospital. Early treatment for mental health disorders is vital and delays in accessing care that cannot be provided in prison can cause irreversible harm. Given this, the current strain on prison places, and the psychological and physical challenge for prison officers and nurses attempting to care for such unwell people, their prompt removal from prison to secure hospitals should be a priority. But it is not. Instead, people linger in prison for weeks, often months and even, in the worst cases, for more than a year waiting for their transfer to be completed.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor

See our YouTube videos on ‘The long wait: A thematic review of delays in the transfer of mentally unwell prisoners’ below:

The long wait: delays in transfers from prison to secure mental hospitals
The long wait: examples of delays from recent inspection reports

We hope that our findings will encourage immediate action so that acutely unwell people do not continue to suffer further harm awaiting the care that they need and to which they are entitled.

The long wait: A thematic review of delays in the transfer of mentally unwell prisoners – Cymraeg/Welsh
(PDF, 2 MB)

Humber and South Yorkshire courts

What we found

Inspectors visited court custody facilities in Humber and South Yorkshire, which covers four Crown courts and five magistrates’ courts.

Overall, we found that detainees felt cared for and that their individual needs were being met. Interactions between custody staff and detainees were generally very good, which contributed to the low levels of force used. Automated external defibrillators were readily available in all the custody suites we visited. Some detainees arrived late to court and remained in custody for too long at the conclusion of their hearings before they were moved to prison.

Points to note

There was disproportionate searching of detainees without an individual risk assessment. More positively, Sheffield magistrates’ court introduced bespoke rooms to hold children, which was an excellent initiative we hope will be replicated in other court custody facilities across England and Wales.

Action plan

HM Courts & Tribunals Service Action Plan
(PDF, 139 KB)

HMP Highpoint

Highpoint healthy prison scores

What we found

One of the largest category C training and resettlement prisons in England, Highpoint was failing to deliver its core purpose to prepare men for their return to the community.

The prison held just under 1,300 men, many convicted of offences related to drugs or violence. Category C prisons should support men to develop skills that will enable them to find work and resettle successfully in the community on their release. But inspectors rated the provision of purposeful activity as ‘poor’. There were not enough places for men to attend education, training and employment and staff shortages meant the well-resourced training facilities for motor vehicle mechanics, plumbing, catering, digital skills and barbering were unused at the time of the inspection.

More than a third of adults released from prison are known to reoffend within a year. With rising prison populations, and people serving longer sentences, it is essential that we address this. That can only happen if prisons fundamentally refocus to become places of rehabilitation, education and training that equip people to move on from offending and take their place in society. There was much to admire about Highpoint, which was safe, well-maintained and had excellent relationships between staff and prisoners. But, like too many other prisons, its work on education, training and resettlement wasn’t good enough.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Read the full press release
Easy read summary
(PDF, 583 KB)
Population profile
(PDF, 145 KB)
Prisoner survey methodology and results
(PDF, 377 KB)
Prisoner survey analysis – Excel workbook
(XLSX, 364 KB)
Staff survey methodology and results
(PDF, 195 KB)

Action plan

HM Prison and Probation Service Action Plan
(PDF, 271 KB)

HMYOI Parc

Parc YOI healthy prison scores

What we found

At Parc, boys were treated well from the moment they arrived and the supportive relationships that staff had built with them meant that most problems or issues could be resolved informally. However, the number of children separated from their peers had increased, and the quality of education had deteriorated and was no longer good enough.

After an extended period of stable and successful leadership, the YOI was in a state of transition. A new director had been brought in to lead the prison as a whole, and a new head of the children’s unit had recently been appointed. This change was being managed well, with the supportive culture experienced by staff and children being maintained, and an excellent and innovative programme of enrichment activity. However, we were concerned to find that, for the first time, the quality of education was not good enough.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Outcomes for young people against the inspectorate’s safety, care and resettlement healthy establishment tests remained good, but purposeful activity had deteriorated from good in 2022 to not sufficiently good at this inspection.

Read the full press release
Easy read summary
(PDF, 512 KB)
Population profile
(PDF, 276 KB)
Prisoner survey methodology and results
(PDF, 261 KB)
Prisoner survey analysis – Excel workbook
(XLSX, 59 KB)
Staff survey methodology and results
(PDF, 195 KB)

Welsh/Cymraeg

Inspection report – Welsh
(PDF, 1 MB)
Easy read summary – Welsh
(PDF, 512 KB)
Population profile – Welsh
(PDF, 201 KB)
Prisoner survey methodology – Welsh
(PDF, 193 KB)
Prisoner survey results – Welsh
(PDF, 1 MB)
Prisoner survey analysis – Welsh
(PDF, 267 KB)
Staff survey methodology and results – Welsh
(PDF, 193 KB)

Action plan

HM Prison and Probation Service Action Plan – English
(PDF, 309 KB)
HM Prison and Probation Service Action Plan – Welsh
(PDF, 305 KB)