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Lancaster Farms, located just outside the city of Lancaster, was providing decent outcomes for the 544 men held there at the time of our inspection. The prison was reasonably calm, with well-maintained buildings and grounds, and had improved its rehabilitation and release planning. However, following the trend across the estate, provision of purposeful activity – education, training, and work – was lacking.

Inspectors returning to Feltham A were pleased to find that decent outcomes for children had been maintained since the last full inspection earlier this year.

Yesterday, the Chief Inspector of Prisons wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice invoking an Urgent Notification for Exeter Prison.

Inspectors visiting Liverpool in July and found a calm and well-ordered prison with a positive and caring culture. This marked an impressive transformation from the jail HMI Prisons inspected in 2017, when Liverpool was in a “parlous state”.

Inspectors returning to Rochester found that little progress had been made since the full inspection in 2021, where prisoners were not getting access to purposeful activity and there were concerns about living conditions, violence, and staffing shortages.

Inspectors returning to Portland found the prison in a better state than during a troubling visit in 2019. At that time, the jail was not keeping prisoners safe or providing decent living conditions. A new governor, appointed in 2020 and with a strong understanding of the issues facing the prison, had carried out good work to begin to transform the jail. However, some concerning gaps in mental health support, violence and self-harm reduction, and purposeful activity remained.

Inspectors returning to HMYOI Werrington found worryingly high levels of violence continued to dominate the institution, with a number of serious assaults taking place even during the brief period of the review.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons has today published a report from an inspection on Manston in Kent, carried out in July 2022.

HMP Channings Wood - good progress but inconsistency in care

Inspectors visited courts across Lancashire and Cumbria and found good progress since the last inspection in 2013.