Prison
Cat local
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Durham
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 20 March 2026
HMP Durham, a reception and resettlement prison, housed an average of 961 men against an operational capacity of 985 during the reporting year. The Board observed improvements in first-night healthcare screening and a reduction in self-harm incidents, alongside a significant increase in overall deaths in custody. Persistent overcrowding, inadequate regime delivery with prisoners spending 21.5 hours in cells, and critical staffing shortages impacting key working and healthcare access remain significant concerns.
Positive Findings
Considerable reduction in late arrivals and massive reduction in first-night healthcare screening due to collaborative working. Self-harm incidents decreased by 42% and assaults on staff reduced. The prison showed improved levels of decency, particularly in the first night centre. Significant improvements were noted in diversity and inclusion, with transgender prisoners being well supported, and the chaplaincy continued its excellent work. There was a 10% decrease in prisoner complaints and a reduction in mental health waiting times.
Key Concerns
Overcrowding
Repeated
The Board has concerns about the level of overcrowding and unhygienic and undignified separation from toilet and living space.
Overcrowding
Repeated
The Board has concerns about the level of overcrowding and unhygienic and undignified separation from toilet and living space. Around 90% of cells originally designed for single occupancy are now double occupied.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
There is a limited number of cells that are disability or age friendly.
Safety
A total of 90% of ACCTs monitored by the Board had administrative issues, including missing staff summaries, photos, and resident contributions. This has shown a deterioration in the completion of this important document.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the prison’s non-compliance with the minimum kit entitlement for prisoners.
Staffing
Repeated
Staffing levels have meant that the Governor and SMT took the decision to cut back on the delivery of key working to only focus on the most vulnerable prisoners, thus enabling them to prioritise regime delivery and prisoner time out of cell instead.
Safety
When the vulnerable prisoners (VP) unit operation is at capacity, VPs are located amongst the ‘mains’ (general prison) population. This presents challenges.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison has been unable to sustainably deliver the core day, meaning men are still spending 21.5 hours a day in cells. This has been exacerbated by roll reconciliation and staff shortages leading to ‘patrol state’ and lockdowns.
Mental Health
Repeated
A total of 90% of ACCTs monitored by the Board had administrative issues, evidencing a deterioration in the completion of this important document.
Safety
The percentage of prisoner-on-prisoner assault has increased from the last monitoring year; the percentage of use of force (UoF) incidents has increased. The Board is concerned that 396 prisoners (42.4%) involved in UoF incidents were not seen by a healthcare professional, an increase from 31% last year.
Safety
The percentage of prisoner-on-prisoner assault has increased from the last monitoring year.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the prison’s non-compliance with the minimum kit entitlement for prisoners, with shortages in boxer shorts, socks, joggers, sweat tops, t-shirts, and blankets.
Safety
Repeated
The percentage of use of force (UoF) incidents has increased since last year, and an increased number of prisoners involved in UoF (42.4%) were not seen by a healthcare professional, as mandated in PSO 1600.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The prison experienced two national education budget cuts, affecting classes, in addition to the loss of its special needs coordinator and reading specialist.
Substance Misuse
Drugs remain a main cause of debt and disorder within the prison; despite efforts to curtail supply, demand does not wane, leading to continued debt, violence, use of force, and self-harm.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board has concerns about a lack of queue supervision whilst prisoners are awaiting medication, leading to increased risk of medication diversion, bullying, and threatening behaviour towards nursing staff.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison has been unable to sustainably deliver the core day, meaning men are still spending 21.5 hours a day in cells, with roll reconciliation and staff shortages further reducing time out of cells and access to purposeful activity and healthcare.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned about the lack of support for the high number of unplanned releases. This year evidenced an increase in the number of prisoners released homeless.
Staffing
Repeated
National recruitment issues and the slowness of the vetting process have consistently impacted staffing levels across the prison.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board has concerns about a persistent lack of queue supervision whilst prisoners are awaiting medication, leading to risks of diversion, bullying, and threatening behaviour towards nursing staff.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The prison experienced national education budget cuts, affecting classes, compounded by the loss of its special needs coordinator and reading specialist.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the lack of support for the high number of unplanned releases and the increase in prisoners released homeless.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The delivery of key working is poor, having been cut back by management due to staffing pressures to focus only on the most vulnerable prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing challenges due to national recruitment issues and lengthy vetting processes continued to impact HMP Durham throughout the year. These shortages adversely affected key working delivery, leading to a management decision to restrict it to only the most vulnerable prisoners. Healthcare recruitment also faced constant challenges, exacerbated by the vetting process, often requiring agency staff to fill gaps and limiting health promotion activities.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision at HMP Durham includes a six-cell healthcare unit and a 12-bed integrated support unit for mental health. Complaints frequently relate to medication, such as delays on admission or changes to prescriptions. While first-night screening significantly improved, waiting times for other healthcare services fluctuate due to prisoner non-attendance and lack of medication queue supervision. The Board is satisfied with mental health care, noting reduced waiting times for nurses, psychiatrists, and counsellors, although officer availability impacts social care delivery.
Regime & Daily Life
HMP Durham struggles to deliver a consistent core day, with prisoners spending an average of 21.5 hours in their cells. Regime delivery is frequently impacted by staff shortages, leading to wings being placed in ‘patrol state’ and lockdowns. Roll reconciliation procedures also restrict prisoner movements, reducing access to purposeful activity and exacerbating the limited time out of cell.
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 transfers) | 45 | 38 | |
| Chaplaincy | 1 | 1 | — |
| Discrimination | 4 | 3 | |
| Food | 7 | 5 | |
| General application to Board member | 21 | 19 | |
| Healthcare | 14 | 11 | |
| Other | 37 | 32 | |
| Property | 15 | 12 | |
| Segregation | 6 | 7 | |
| Treatment | 23 | 18 | |
| Work/activities/education | 12 | 14 |
Recommendations (25)
Other: 2
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 9
Governor / Director: 11
14 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What progress has been made since the implementation of the government’s 2024 prison capacity strategy and how will this directly impact on HMP Durham?
Other
(minister)
overcrowding
Recommendation 1
What progress has been made since the implementation of the government’s 2024 prison capacity strategy and how will this directly impact on HMP Durham?
Ministry of Justice
overcrowding
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the planned 25% cut in education. What will the Prison Service do to address this issue?
HMPPS
education
Recommendation 1
The Board is concerned about the planned 25% cut in education. What will the Prison Service do to address this issue?
HMPPS
education
Recommendation 1
Repeated
How does the Governor intend to ensure that all prisoners involved in UoF are seen by healthcare staff?
Governor / Director
safety
Recommendation 1
How does the Governor intend to ensure that all prisoners involved in UoF are seen by healthcare staff?
Governor / Director
safety
Recommendation 2
Repeated
What will be done to speed up the process of getting staff into HMP Durham, including the third-party providers, for the time scale between appointment and starting work?
Other
(minister)
staffing
Recommendation 2
What will be done to speed up the process of getting staff into HMP Durham, including the third-party providers, for the time scale between appointment and starting work?
Ministry of Justice
staffing
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Given the Board’s observations regarding the high level of administrative errors, as seen in section 4.2, does the Prison Service believe the ACCT document in its current form is fit for purpose? What evidence does HMPPS have to support its conclusions?
HMPPS
mental_health
Recommendation 2
Given the Board’s observations regarding the high level of administrative errors, as seen in section 4.2, does the Prison Service believe the ACCT document in its current form is fit for purpose? What evidence does HMPPS have to support its conclusions?
HMPPS
safety
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The prison continues to be non-compliant with the minimum entitlement of clothing for newly admitted prisoners. How is the Governor going to resolve this situation?
Governor / Director
regime
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The prison continues to be non-compliant with the minimum entitlement of clothing for newly admitted prisoners. How is the Governor going to resolve this situation?
Governor / Director
regime
Recommendation 3
How does HMPPS intend to ensure sustainable funding for projects such as the early days in custody worker, where time limited external funding directly impacts on prisoner outcomes?
HMPPS
resettlement
Recommendation 3
How does HMPPS intend to ensure sustainable funding for projects such as the early days in custody worker, where time limited external funding directly impacts on prisoner outcomes?
HMPPS
resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board has observed the lack of supervision of medication queues throughout the year. How will the Governor ensure that staff are deployed to maintain adequate supervision?
Governor / Director
healthcare
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board has observed the lack of supervision of medication queues throughout the year. How will the Governor ensure that staff are deployed to maintain adequate supervision?
Governor / Director
healthcare
Recommendation 17
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Yet again, the Board has raised concerns about the levels of overcrowding and its impact on the dignity of prisoners. Yet again, we have received answers offering no hope of improvement. When will the Minister actually resolve this issue? (5.1.1)
Ministry of Justice
overcrowding
Response
It is regrettable that overcrowding continues to be a concern. This is not a simple issue and that is why on 12 July 2024, the Lord Chancellor announced a package of measures aimed at addressing prison capacity issues and preventing the collapse of the criminal justice system. Further, on 11 December 2024, we set out our long-term plan for prison capacity through the publication of the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. This sets out our plans to deliver 14,000 new prison places and create a resilient prison estate that includes the construction of four new prisons as well as expansion and refurbishment of the existing prison estate. Whilst this does not address the immediate crowding and cell sharing issues at HMP Durham, the strategy underlines our commitment to improving the overall estate and future direction.
Recommendation 18
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Last year we asked, ‘What plans does the Prison Service have to improve the number of accessible cells for ageing or disabled prisoners?’ What investment do you intend to make within a reasonable time scale to improve prison experience for disabled prisoners? (5.1.6)
HMPPS
equality
Response
Generic response indicating HMPPS investment for 2024 to 2026. Nothing specific to HMP Durham.
Recommendation 19
Repeated
Prev. addressed
What investment does the Prison Service intend to make to replace temporary and failing boilers so that prisoners are guaranteed heat and hot water when required?
HMPPS
estate
Response
Boiler replacements in A, B, C, D, and E wings were completed in April 2025. A bid has also been submitted for replacement boilers in the gymnasium and workshops and is currently awaiting confirmation of funding approval for the current financial year. The Board will appreciate there are budgetary pressures and whilst all requests from the establishment will be considered, demands for maintenance are much greater than the available funding
Recommendation 20
Repeated
The prison was, again, designated as a cluster death site in July. What urgent steps will the Prison Service take to prevent deaths in custody?
HMPPS
safety
Response
Generic response on what a cluster death site is and what it is intended to do. In addition, specific to HMP Durham the response was: HMPPS provides individualised support through the case support process for people assessed at risk of suicide or self harm and this involves training for staff in the case of risk assessment.
Recommendation 21
What are the Governor’s plans to reduce violence, self-harm and assaults in the prison?
Governor / Director
safety
Response
The Governor has provided the Board with two plans i.e. violence reduction and ACCT improvement
Recommendation 22
Prev. unaddressed
How will you ensure the alignment of operational and healthcare regimes? (6.2.13)
Governor / Director
healthcare
Response
•The prison considers healthcare priorities, treatment times, and bespoke regime care concerns relating to the supervision of medication for inpatients at the weekly Regime Management Plan meeting. •The prison reprofiled and implemented new shifts and profiled tasks taking effect in January 2025 which detailed specific officers for supervising early medication issue. •D wing (which accommodates prisoners receiving methadone) has staffing priority in the weekly Regime Management Plan meeting and subsequent detailing priorities. •The prison receives assurance through our Local Delivery Board that the regime plan is balanced effectively for delivery of the healthcare regime.
Recommendation 23
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What does the Governor intend to do to make sure that the key worker scheme is meaningful to prisoners, with a guaranteed time investment for staff so that key working becomes high profile and relevant? (5.3.1)
Governor / Director
regime
Response
Staffing resources remain an issue, and we have an overtime incentivised scheme in place to help resources. Our focus in the beginning of the year has been on regime delivery to stabilise the prison and provide adequate time out of cell to the prisoners. In the last three months we have focused on making key work more relevant by improving quality and reducing the number of invalid sessions. This is evidenced by the improvement shown on the performance hub. A keywork audit has taken place and action plan has been agreed by the Governor. The action plan includes developing a keywork policy and improving Quality Assurance feedback loop and staff development. Keywork delivery will be in our business plan for 26/27 and one of the six main priorities of the prison for the year. Delivery of resources for key work will be monitored daily through the Governors morning meeting and through the weekly regime management plan meeting.
Recommendation 24
Prev. addressed
What does the Governor intend to do to secure a consistent and coherent approach to diversity across the prison? (5.4.19)
Governor / Director
equality
Response
•Strand leads appointed for all P/C's with dates now submitted plotting out forums to be held across the next six months •D&I meeting plan under review by the Governor, to ensure this brings value and reviews strategic aims rather than just going through data. •DIRF (Discrimination Incident Reporting Forms) process now more embedded, with revised QA process, learning now shared with managers following DIRF investigations to improve future DIRFs •Weekly check of all captured protected characteristics by D&I CM, missing data is circulated to CMs and this is updated each week to ensure we have a full data set, which makes EMT (Equality Monitoring Tool) more meaningful and accurate.
Recommendation 25
Prev. addressed
How will you ensure that staff fully understand the eligibility and process for clothing parcels to be handed in/delivered to the prison so that consistent guidance is given to prisoners? (5.8.4)
Governor / Director
regime
Response
A notice to staff outlines the process for receiving clothing parcels and was issued in January last year and will be an annual notice to staff, additionally reception staff are able to advise staff of the process for both reception and enhanced clothing parcels to be received at the prison. Notice to prisoners outlines the process to prisoners for having clothing parcels sent in. This also will go out annually as a reminder. Additionally for prisoners, the process is covered within the IPF (Incentives Policy Framework) framework and information available from Prisoner Information Desk workers and explained during the induction process. The information is also displayed in the visitor's centre for prisoner's visitors to be made aware of the process
Other IMB Reports for Durham
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
30 Apr 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
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.