News

Inspectors to HMP Leeds, a reception and resettlement prison dating back to the 19th century, found a prison struggling to improve safety outcomes, although meaningful work was taking place across all of our healthy prison tests.

Inspectors returning to HMP&YOI Foston Hall found that women were still living in a violent and unsafe environment.

Brook House, an immigration removal centre located next to Gatwick airport, was providing decent standards of care, but many detainees were anxious about their future because of delays in case progression and limited information provided by the Home Office.

The national youth custody system is failing to provide very vulnerable girls with the environment and support they need, according to a joint thematic inspection by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, HM Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted, Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW). Inspectors spoke to girls who were currently detained, girls and women who had been recently released, and young women who had transitioned to an adult prison after turning 18.

HMP Onley, a category C training and resettlement prison in rural Northamptonshire, was now a safer prison, but acute staffing shortages were having a severe impact on the provision of activity and progression for prisoners, according to inspectors.

Inspectors to HMP Berwyn, a category C training prison in North Wales, found a strong leadership team providing decent outcomes, but improvement was needed in purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning. The prison, one of the newest and largest in the estate, held 1,835 men at the time of the inspection.

The inspection of HMP Featherstone, a category C training prison near Wolverhampton, found a safer prison with a reasonably good regime. However, its 661 prisoners were let down by poor offender management which limited their opportunities to progress.

Inspectors to HMP Lewes, a category B prison in Sussex, were disappointed by a lack of progress in safety, respect, and purposeful activity. The 520 men held in the jail were spending long periods locked up in dirty conditions, with very limited access to work, education, or activity.

Inspectors to HMP Wayland in Norfolk found a prison struggling to recruit and retain staff and unable to provide adequate conditions in which prisoners can live, learn, and work. The category C jail held 890 men at the time of the inspection and had recently been labelled a ‘black’ site for staff recruitment, enabling an uplift in starting pay for officers.

Two centres holding nine men who could not be managed in mainstream prison environments were providing safe and reasonable conditions, but were not focused enough on changing prisoners’ behaviour, according to HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Inspectors visited the separation centres in HMP Frankland, County Durham, and HMP Woodhill, Buckinghamshire in April 2022.