Skip to content

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated.

To view this licence, visit:
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3

or write to:
Information Policy Team,
The National Archives,
Kew,
London TW9 4DU

or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

This publication is available at:
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.

Reports published 11 May

Published:

HMP Wayland

Type of inspection: Full inspection

Dates of inspection: 26 January – 5 February 2026

Summary of findings: Physical security was not good enough and a high proportion of prisoners were testing positive for illegal drugs. The use of force was not always appropriate, many residential units needed repairs, and there were shortcomings in the delivery of health services. More positively, significant improvements had been made to education, skills and work activities, access to social video calls was good, and prison staff were encouraging segregated prisoners to take part in activities.

Points to note: Work to improve fair treatment was impressive: prisoner ‘equality advocates’ were improving communication with minority groups, discrimination incident investigations were rigorous, and a ‘reverse mentoring’ scheme was helping black prisoners to provide valuable feedback to senior leaders.

Read the report: HMP Wayland