Prison
Cat YOI, women's prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
New Hall
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 26 February 2026
HMP/YOI New Hall operates as a closed prison for women, holding 313 prisoners against an operational capacity of 376. The report highlights several positive developments, including effective reception processes, successful key worker implementation, and improved chaplaincy services. However, significant concerns remain regarding inadequate mental health provision and lengthy transfer delays for acutely unwell prisoners, a 50% increase in healthcare complaints, and ongoing issues with regime limitations and prison maintenance.
Positive Findings
The Board observed professionally managed, efficient reception processes and a clean, calm environment. The HOPE intervention is well-received, and the Listener service continues to improve with 24-hour support. Key worker implementation is successful, resolving issues quickly. Good relationships between staff and prisoners were noted, supported by the in-cell technology. Chaplaincy provides comprehensive faith and pastoral support, with a choir helping prisoners grow in confidence. Complaints processing is well-established, with central logging and quality checks.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Changes to the sentencing guidelines have put additional pressures on the OMU staff.
Mental Health
Repeated
The changes to the Mental Health Act mean that acutely mentally unwell prisoners cannot easily access appropriate mental health services once they are admitted to prison. Changing this would help to accelerate the process of prisoners to secure units.
Safety
The ability to use the body scanner as soon as possible would help prison security.
Mental Health
Repeated
Increased levels of funding are essential to meet the complex and severe mental health needs of the women. The Board wishes to reiterate its concerns about the number of women with severe mental health condition who are being sent to the prison solely as a place of safety. We feel that prison is not an appropriate environment for women with severe mental health issues and those women requiring assessment and admission to secure mental health establishments were not assessed and transferred promptly enough.
Estate/Conditions
Maintenance of equipment, e.g. washing machines / tumble dryers and basic furnishings, such as carpets stuck together with gaffer tape, take a long time to repair (first night centre and Oak 2).
Education/Purposeful Activity
Moving forward there is concern about national policy which will cut the education and skills funding and possibly reduce access to education in the future.
Healthcare
An increase in number of complaints about the healthcare provision, e.g. plans for the women’s health hub and Practice Plus Group monitoring of health care centre concerns and complaints.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Lack of time ‘out of cells’ to eat, shower and exercise, and resentment about early lockups.
Estate/Conditions
The temperature is still a problem on wings with old heating systems, which are either on or off. There are comments about being ‘frozen’ at times.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The intermittent nature of contracts was frustrating. The IMB observed an occasional number of days when work was cut short and prisoners were left to fill the time with colouring sheets, nail painting and hair braiding.
Other
Not all respondents' property arrived with them at New Hall.
Resettlement/Release
Not all respondents were clear about who their prison offender manager was.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Frustration was expressed in the time taken to get approval, particularly for phone PINS.
Staffing
Staff cuts and higher staff turnover, the ambition to achieve a cohesive working culture between prison and community-based services is still limited, which can lead to variable and disconnected sentence planning as individuals are released through the gate.
Resettlement/Release
Some women asserted that they did not have confirmed accommodation on the day of release.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Board observed very good relationships between staff and prisoners. The key worker system is well-established and successful, supported by a new guide. However, work on the segregation unit can be stressful and demanding, though staff have access to support. There were concerns about additional pressures on OMU staff due to sentencing guidelines and staff cuts/high turnover limiting cohesive working for community-based resettlement services.
Healthcare
The healthcare needs of women at New Hall are increasingly complex and high-level, posing significant challenges. The prison continues to be used as a place of safety for those with complex mental health needs, though it cannot provide the same level of care as a secure facility, leading to unacceptable delays in transfers. The Board noted an increase of 50% in healthcare applications, mainly concerning medication delays and poor treatment. Future plans include a wing-based clinical facility and a dedicated women’s health hub.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners in the IMB survey reported a lack of time 'out of cells' for eating, showering, and exercise, along with resentment about early lockups. Temperature control is an ongoing issue on wings with old heating systems, leading to comments about being 'frozen'. The intermittent nature of sewing work contracts was frustrating, resulting in periods where prisoners were left without purposeful activity, filling time with coloring or nail painting.
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 | 8 | 9 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 8 | 3 | |
| Equality | 4 | 1 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 3 | 3 | — |
| Food and kitchens | 5 | 3 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 49 | 37 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 3 | 9 | |
| Miscellaneous | 9 | 3 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 5 | 3 | |
| Property within the establishment | 4 | 3 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 2 | 5 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 8 | 3 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 16 | 19 | |
| Transfers | 5 | 2 |
Recommendations (9)
Governor / Director: 4
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 2
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
The IMB recommends that more purposeful activity is timetabled for prisoners if/when contractual sewing work is not available.
Governor / Director
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 2
The Minister should mitigate the pressure on OMU staff caused by changes to sentencing guidelines.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Changes to the Mental Health Act mean that acutely mentally unwell prisoners cannot easily access appropriate mental health services once they are admitted to prison. Changing this would help to accelerate the process of prisoners to secure units.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 4
The Minister should implement the X-ray body scanner as soon as possible to help prison security.
Ministry of Justice
Safety
Recommendation 5
Repeated
The Prison Service should address the issue of increased levels of funding essential to meet the complex and severe mental health needs of women, and ensure women requiring assessment and admission to secure mental health establishments are assessed and transferred promptly enough.
HMPPS
Mental Health
Recommendation 6
It is recommended that data, specific to New Hall, regarding reoffending rates are gathered and monitored by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HMP New Hall.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 7
The Governor should address how the prison will deal with the national policy which will cut the education and skills funding and possibly reduce access to education in the future.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 8
The continued development of appropriate support for vulnerable prisoners on release.
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Recommendation 9
Continued strategies to address the increase in number of complaints about the healthcare provision, e.g. plans for the women’s health hub and Practice Plus Group monitoring of health care centre concerns and complaints.
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Other IMB Reports for New Hall
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.