Prison
Cat Category B training prison, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Woodhill
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 6 October 2020
HMP/YOI Woodhill underwent a significant re-roling during the reporting year to become a Category B training prison for long-sentenced prisoners. While the Board noted positive developments such as no deaths in custody and improved healthcare complaint response times, significant challenges persisted. Key concerns included high levels of violence, self-harm, and drug use, staff shortages, and an inadequate mental health service with transfer delays. The COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted the regime in the latter part of the year, further impacting time out of cell and purposeful activity.
Positive Findings
The Board is pleased to note that there were no deaths in custody during the reporting year. Healthcare services generally operated satisfactorily, and Addictions team staffing improved. The in-cell telephones proved particularly useful during COVID-19 lockdown. The key worker system, while interrupted, improved staff-prisoner interaction. Response times to healthcare complaints improved significantly, and a new education contract worked well overall.
Key Concerns
Safety
The levels of violence and self-harm, and of assaults both by prisoners on staff and by prisoners on other prisoners, are too high.
Safety
The quality of assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) processes and documentation is variable and reviews under the procedure are not always held on time.
Staffing
There is a large proportion of officers who are inexperienced, and the wastage rate of new officers is high and so is the sickness rate.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Despite working proactively with the police, the prison has very high levels of psychoactive substance and other drug use, and mobile phones are available.
Segregation
Repeated
There are too many prisoners held in segregation for long periods.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Difficulties about prisoners’ property during re-roling. When new prisoners transferred in, a large proportion of their property arrived long after them and some was lost in transit; many had far more property than they should have had, and they had been inadequately searched before leaving their previous prison.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
There were delays in repairing prison accommodation and equipment.
Mental Health
Repeated
an inadequate mental health service and long delays in transferring prisoners to secure mental health facilities.
Education/Purposeful Activity
There are insufficient offender behaviour programmes to progress the long-sentence population now held.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Particularly following the re-roling of the prison, there are insufficient workshops, rehabilitation programmes, and education and library services for the type of long-sentenced prisoners now held.
Resettlement/Release
Services provided by the community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) were slow and inadequate, primarily because of understaffing.
Complaints/Property
Throughout the reporting year, the prison failed to meet its target to respond to 95% of prisoner complaints within the deadline of five working days.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison faced staff shortages and high levels of inexperience among officers, leading to the curtailment and inconsistent implementation of the regime. There was a high wastage rate of new officers and a high sickness rate. Frequent cross-deployment of staff made consistent treatment of prisoners difficult. The key worker system was introduced and improved interaction but was interrupted by COVID-19. Healthcare and addictions team staffing were unstable initially due to security clearance delays.
Healthcare
Healthcare services operated satisfactorily despite recurring staff shortages, which were severe at times. The mental health service was deemed inadequate, with long delays in transferring prisoners to secure mental health facilities. Pharmacy services were unsatisfactory for much of 2019 but improved significantly in 2020. GP and dentist waiting times were reasonable, and the mental health team was fully staffed for the last four months of the reporting year.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime was regularly curtailed due to staff shortages and inexperience, leading to inconsistent implementation and late unlocks. From late March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe restrictions, with many prisoners locked in-cell for 23 hours a day, receiving only 30 minutes of exercise plus about 15 minutes for showers. Purposeful activity, workshops, education, and library services were considered insufficient for the long-sentenced population.
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 | 4 | 8 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 5 | 7 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 3 | 8 | |
| Equality | 3 | 6 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 1 | 13 | |
| Food and kitchens | 4 | 7 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 36 | 17 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 18 | 36 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 23 | 32 | |
| Not classified | 34 | 19 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 98 | 54 | |
| Property within this establishment | 29 | 25 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 12 | 7 | |
| Sentence management, including home detention curfew, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 16 | 19 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 47 | 43 | |
| Transfers | 31 | 18 |
Recommendations (11)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 6
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ask the minister to work with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health to ensure that delays in transferring prisoners to secure mental health facilities are reduced.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
Improvements to mental health facilities and transfer times to mental health facilities – there has been no change
Recommendation 2
To ask the Service to review and reform the property system, to reduce delays in transportation, inconsistencies in entitlements and reduce losses
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 3
To ensure that prisoners are properly searched and transferred from one prison to another without contraband
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To improve the management of long-term segregated prisoners
HMPPS
Segregation
Response
Improvement in the management of long-term segregated prisoners – there has been no improvement
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To ensure sufficient funding for works and maintenance.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
Improve maintenance of the fabric and equipment of the prison – there has been some small improvement but delays and deterioration remain
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To reduce the supply of illicit items, specifically drugs, phones and weapons
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
Response
Reduce the supply of drugs and phones – the installation of a body scanner has increased the detection of items but there is no evidence of reduced availability
Recommendation 7
To manage more effectively the works maintenance programme
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 8
To manage more effectively the distribution of kit
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
To continue efforts already being made through the Woodhill Growth Project to create a culture where the wellbeing and progression of prisoners is the prime consideration for staff.
Governor / Director
Staff/Prisoner Relations
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To increase prisoners’ time out of cell
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
Restricted time out of cell – there was no change before the COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdown
Recommendation 11
To improve the quality of use of force records
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Woodhill
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
17 Mar 2026
Urgent Notification
14 Aug 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 1
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 2
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.