Prison
Cat Local
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Manchester
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 1 December 2020
HMP Manchester is undergoing a transition from a local to a Category B training prison, leading to a reduced population and staff restructuring. The Board expresses significant concerns over persistent regime curtailments, a substantial increase in self-harm incidents, and the prolonged retention of prisoners with severe mental health needs due to transfer delays. While some improvements like in-cell telephones and a new Governor boosting staff morale are noted, challenges persist with an aging estate, vermin infestation, and staffing shortages.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomes the arrival of a new Governor and notes his positive impact on staff morale. Positive changes include the progression of the key worker scheme, leading to improved prisoner-staff engagement and a reduction in complaints. Improvements to the estate, such as new showers, disabled-accessible cells, and the provision of in-cell telephones, have been welcomed. The healthcare service is recognized for its excellent and comprehensive provision, and education has made strides in initial assessments and learning disability screenings. The planned reopening of the waste management centre is also seen as a positive step for both revenue and purposeful activity.
Key Concerns
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Persistent regime curtailments and lack of purposeful activity, resulting in prisoners spending excessive hours in their cells.
Safety
Repeated
Significant increase in self-harm incidents and a proportional rise in prisoner-on-prisoner and staff assaults.
Mental Health
Prolonged retention of prisoners with severe mental health issues awaiting specialist transfers in an unsuitable prison environment.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Deteriorating state of the aging estate, including vermin infestation, outstanding repairs, and inadequate dining facilities.
Staffing
Repeated
Ongoing staff resourcing challenges, high staff sickness, and a largely inexperienced workforce impacting regime delivery.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Recurring issues with lost prisoner property and the unsatisfactory quality of responses to prisoner complaints.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing has been a continuous concern throughout the reporting year, marked by a reduction in experienced officers due to retirements and administrative role changes. Consequently, approximately 66% of current staff have less than two years' experience, and the retention rate for new officers is low. These issues contribute to an unsettled regime and an increase in staff sickness, significantly impacting daily operations and the delivery of purposeful activity for prisoners.
Healthcare
HMP Manchester delivers an excellent and comprehensive healthcare service. However, a significant number of appointments (6,215 out of 34,001 booked) were missed, frequently due to a lack of staff escorts, causing delays and discomfort for prisoners. The Board is deeply concerned by the unacceptably long waiting times for prisoners with severe mental health issues to be transferred to appropriate secure psychiatric hospitals, as the prison environment is unsuitable and often exacerbates their conditions.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison regime has been persistently curtailed, often due to operational and staffing pressures, leading to a significant deterioration in purposeful activity. Prisoners are spending excessive and inhumane hours in their cells, a concern so severe that the Board wrote directly to the Secretary of State for Justice. Full activity occurred on only a handful of days in several months, with afternoons frequently restricted to essential services.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 0 | 0 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 0 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives and earned privileges, sanctions | 0 | 0 | |
| Equality | 0 | 1 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 0 | 4 | |
| Food and kitchens | 1 | 1 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 5 | 6 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 0 | 3 | |
| Miscellaneous | 24 | 10 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 7 | 16 | |
| Property within this establishment | 14 | 11 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 0 | 0 | |
| Sentence management including home detention curfew, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 0 | 5 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 7 | 6 | |
| Transfers | 1 | 5 |
Recommendations (12)
Ministry of Justice: 4
Governor / Director: 8
7 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the minister expedite approval of the necessary funding [for safer custody windows]?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board would enquire of the minister if steps could be taken to provide the prison with a separate canteen facility for its prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Regime
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What assurances can the minister provide to the Board that the handling of prisoner property is being prioritised to and from various prison establishments across the country?
Ministry of Justice
Property
Recommendation 4
What assurances can be offered to ensure that prisoners suffering from these symptoms can be swiftly placed in specialist accommodation to best support their needs?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 5
Other than the regular monthly board meetings, can the Governor offer alternative channels of communication to the Board, to keep them abreast of the changes planned for HMP Manchester in becoming a category B training establishment?
Governor / Director
Operations
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the prison develop a more efficient process for handling prisoners’ property, and particularly in relation to those prisoners in custody at HMP Manchester where there has been the necessity to undertake cell clearances for moves between wings? Can the introduction of mandatory body-worn cameras to record cell clearances be initiated?
Governor / Director
Property
Recommendation 7
What processes can be implemented to improve the quality of responses to those prisoners making a complaint?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 8
What processes are being put into place to reduce staff sickness further, to provide a healthy workforce, with high levels of staff attendance?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can assurances be provided by the Governor that these concerns will be a prioritised, in view of the new profiles for a category B training establishment?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What measures are being introduced to reduce the risk of violence in the prison and support those prisoners at risk of self-harm?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What plans are in place to improve living conditions further for prisoners, in respect of the vermin infestation across the estate and on a number of wings?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 12
The Board recommends that the Governor addresses the number of outstanding repairs across the estate, and, in particular, the length of time that it takes for repairs to be completed.
Governor / Director
Estate
Other IMB Reports for Manchester
2025
Published 4 Nov 2025
2024
Published 4 Nov 2025
2023
Published 4 Nov 2025
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
12 Jan 2026
Unannounced
9 Oct 2024
Urgent Notification
17 Sep 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 1
Respect: 1
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.