Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Parc
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 2 April 2026
HMP/YOI Parc is Wales’ only privately run prison. It is a category C resettlement prison that holds convicted adult men aged over 18 years, as well as convicted or remanded vulnerable prisoners. Outcomes for prisoners were poor for safety and not sufficiently good for respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.
Positive Findings
Improved partnership working between the prison and the health board was showing potential for improving both operational and strategic approaches. A new kitchen features prominently in expansion plans for the prison (due for completion in 2029). Replacement kitchen electrical equipment was identified in order to improve service delivery, and funding was identified to enable the purchase of new Bratt pans and boiling kettles.
Key Concerns
Overcrowding
From our very limited number of observations, admissions staff were welcoming and respectful, despite occasional overcrowding and operational disorganisation.
Healthcare
There were some delays in healthcare assessments for new arrivals.
Safety
Levels of deliberate self-harm (DSH) remained high compared with comparable prisons
Safety
Violence levels remained consistently high
Safety
Use of force continued to rise, disproportionately affecting ethnic minority prisoners.
Substance Misuse
Illicit drugs remained available
Food/Catering
The Board was concerned about food provision across the adult estate, with limited choice and inconsistent portions, linked to servery supervision issues.
Other
Persistent issues with prisoners’ property during segregation and transfers were widely reported, including losses and officers’ poor record-keeping.
Complaints/Property
The complaints procedure and property-handling systems lacked transparency and effectiveness, undermining prisoner confidence and generating high levels of dissatisfaction.
Staffing
Staffing shortages, exacerbated by high numbers of bed-watches and vetting delays negatively impacted regime delivery.
Healthcare
Episodes of self-harm were often attributed by prisoners to the withdrawal of medication
Healthcare
The Board believes that the waits for transfers to secure hospital were too long.
Healthcare
Pharmacy facilities appeared to be inadequate.
Healthcare
Dental services were severely limited by space and high cancellation rates.
Substance Misuse
Caseloads for the substance misuse service were too high, in the Board’s view.
Staffing
Staff turnover rate was too high.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The proportion of cancelled sessions/classes was too high; this had a negative impact on prisoners’ progression and wellbeing.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Insufficiency of staff, attributed to recruitment and retention difficulties and in part to national population pressures, was exacerbated by delays in the government’s vetting system and a high volume of bed-watches. Staffing became more challenging during the last quarter of the reporting year. Although leaders were proactive in taking steps to alleviate these pressures, using overtime (at enhanced rates) and deployment of staff from other G4S establishments, the impact of regime restrictions on prisoners and staff was significant.
Healthcare
Healthcare services transferred to Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) in December 2022. An improvement in partnership work between CTMUHB, G4S and HMPPS was noted. There appears to be a consensus that current provision requires significant expansion and improvement to meet the healthcare and substance-misuse needs of an extremely diverse prisoner demographic. Environmental, practical and logistical issues have affected the delivery of healthcare provision in the adult estate.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison regularly operated a reduced regime. For most of the year, whilst education and employment were protected, association and enrichment activities were somewhat curtailed, and key worker delivery was limited. Despite mitigations, time out of cell decreased and cancellation of healthcare, education, employment and training activities was a frequent occurrence. Prisoners frequently reported that limited time out of their cells, boredom, and the stress caused by unpredictable regime changes contributed to increased substance misuse, deliberate self-harm and violent incidents.
Recommendations (6)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 4
Recommendation 1
The delay in obtaining Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) vetting clearance has had a major impact on the ability to appoint staff, particularly prison custody officers (PCO), as well as health, education and catering staff. How does the Minister plan to hasten this process to ensure the necessary staffing complement can be achieved whilst security is not compromised?
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 2
Given national population pressures across the prison estate, staffing provision in the offender management unit (OMU) is insufficient to meet the demand of the current prison population at HMP/YOI Parc. When will HMPPS provide additional funding to alleviate the pressure on Prison Offender Manager (POM) caseloads and facilitate more effective sentence planning?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 3
The dental service is severely limited by lack of space and high cancellation rates. What concrete actions do the head of healthcare and the director intend to take to expand access to dental care, including both preventative provision and timely emergency treatment?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
Delays to remove prisoners to ED for non-urgent conditions were prolonged. Neither the healthcare department nor G4S monitored the wait times nor the reasons.
o What arrangements do the head of healthcare and the Director intend to put in place to actively prioritise and monitor prisoners to ensure no harm comes to them during these waits?
o What data collection arrangements do the head of healthcare and the Director intend to put in place that will inform strategies to improve the timeliness of prisoner transfers to ED?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 5
HMP/YOI Parc has continued to experience high levels of deliberate self-harm (DSH) compared with similar prisons. What specific actions will the Director take to achieve a sustained reduction in these incidents?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 6
Prisoners report a lack of trust in the complaints process, and the IMB has found that many responses are of poor quality. What actions does the Director intend to take to rebuild prisoner confidence in the system and to ensure that responses are timely and of consistently higher quality?
Governor / Director
Complaints