Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Channings Wood
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 24 February 2026
HMP Channings Wood, a Category C prison, experienced an increase in deaths in custody and persistent issues with prisoner property and outstanding infrastructure repairs during the reporting period ending August 2025. Despite improvements in education attendance and some aspects of daily regime, concerns remain regarding out-of-hours healthcare for an ageing population, insufficient purposeful activity, and the negative impact of staffing reductions on key services. The Board highlights the inhumane conditions for IPP prisoners and notes a significant rise in prisoner complaints.
Positive Findings
The Board noted broad satisfaction with healthcare and commendable improvements in daily movements leading to better education attendance (almost 97%). Staff treat prisoners well, especially in reception, and ACCT reviews are conducted empathetically. Positive observations include well-maintained gardens, effective segregation management, and popular chaplaincy, library, and arts programs.
Key Concerns
Safety
Seven deaths in custody during the reporting period, an increase of six on the previous year, possibly reflecting the ageing population at Channings Wood. The PPO has highlighted the importance of prompt applications for early release on compassionate grounds (ERCG).
Safety
The total number of assaults was lower this reporting period, though the number of assaults on staff has increased.
Safety
The Board is concerned that some prisoners are being scanned unnecessarily by X-ray body scanners, despite the prison's assessment that the risk of drugs coming from other establishments constitutes a clear threat.
Other
Repeated
Prisoners' property continues to be the largest subject of applications, with an increase of more than double from the previous year, mainly relating to lost or damaged property and slow resolution times, despite HMPPS acknowledging the issue previously.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Critical repairs to key infrastructure, including leaking roofs in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) and Living Block 6, and the workshop roof and heating, have remained unresolved for a long time and will not be remedied until the expansion project is completed.
Complaints/Property
The number of prisoner complaints (Comp 1) has risen this year by about 20%, with key subjects including the offender management unit (OMU), canteen, property, and reception.
Healthcare
The healthcare department is not contracted to provide 24-hour care, which is of concern to the Board, especially given the ageing population of prisoners being held at HMP Channings Wood.
Equality/Diversity
Opportunities to help prisoners with physical disabilities have been missed, with ongoing problems regarding the provision of essential equipment such as wheelchairs, high-backed chairs, and orthopaedic mattresses, often delayed by funding complexities between local authority/NHS and the prison.
Healthcare
Repeated
The increasing proportion of older prisoners, especially since transfers from HMP Dartmoor, places significant pressure on resources like out-of-hours care, disability equipment, hospital escorts, and ERCG processing, with work on an aging population strategy having failed to materialise.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The abolished and discredited IPP sentence is considered inhumane, causing stress and anxiety for legacy IPP prisoners due to frequent parole hearing delays, insufficient community offender management, and lack of approved premises, with no resentencing exercise planned.
Education/Purposeful Activity
In a training and resettlement prison, access to purposeful activity which delivers qualifications that potential employers recognise and value is a fundamental requirement. Prisoners wait too long for functional skills courses, cannot achieve accredited qualifications in too many areas outside of education, and embedded qualifications across industries is inconsistent.
Resettlement/Release
Dissatisfaction among prisoners relating to the Offender Management Unit (OMU) and sentence planning activities is evidenced by IMB discussions, prison complaints, IMB applications, and the prisoner survey.
Staffing
Repeated
Recent reductions in staff due to detached duty allocations and ongoing sickness absence have led to a decline in core service delivery, including key worker sessions and mandatory drug testing.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels at HMP Channings Wood improved significantly after transfers from HMP Dartmoor, leading to a surge in key worker sessions. However, recent reductions due to detached duty and sickness absence have reversed these gains, impacting core service delivery, including key worker sessions and mandatory drug testing. This decline is a concern for the Board, as the regime's effectiveness is closely tied to staff availability.
Healthcare
Healthcare, provided by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, generally receives broad satisfaction. However, there are frustrations with specialist external referrals and a significant concern about the lack of 24-hour out-of-hours care, particularly with an ageing prisoner population. Issues also include the poor condition of the healthcare building, a period of unavailable psychiatric support (now rectified), and insufficient staff for hospital escorts, leading to prioritisation of appointments.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners frequently complain about the amount of time spent locked up, leading to a perception that the prison operates more like a Category B than a Category C facility. While efforts to improve the regime and daily movements have positively impacted education and employment attendance, these gains are threatened by staffing reductions. Lock-downs during staff training days also remain a source of dissatisfaction.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education/Work/Activities | 18 | 10 | |
| Food | 15 | 8 | |
| Healthcare | 36 | 25 | |
| Other | 186 | 190 | |
| Property | 81 | 38 | |
| Staff issues/bullying | 24 | 15 | |
| Transfers/Release | 45 | 30 |
Recommendations (7)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 3
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can he inform the Board what progress has been made over the last year to improve conditions for IPP prisoners and to reduce the risks to their own mental health and wellbeing? Could he also specify how he plans to address the other barriers to release, such as frequent delays or adjournments in parole hearings; the need for more robust community offender management and ensuring the adequate provision of approved premises?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Given that work on an aging population strategy has failed to materialise, can he advise the Board of any progress that has been made over the last 12 months and whether any concrete proposals have been identified?
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What evidence can HMPPS point to that demonstrates that they do care and that things will indeed get better?
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 4
Can HMPPS confirm what actions are to be taken to ensure staffing levels at HMP Channings Wood are restored and maintained?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 5
Allowing for the roughly 20% who are unfit or retired (and some of the retired may wish to be in activity) what can be done for the missing 14% or so who are eligible for education, skills or work, but still cannot access it?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 6
To what does the Governor attribute the 20% plus increase in complaints and what can be done to address this?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 7
Is this something that the Governor recognises and if so, how can the delivery of offender management services be improved?
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Other IMB Reports for Channings Wood
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.