Prison
Cat B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Grendon
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 20 May 2026
HMP Grendon is a category B prison and therapeutic community. Membership of the IMB Board remains well below capacity, limiting depth of monitoring and reporting. In the Board’s view, the prison continues to operate within a generally safe environment.
Positive Findings
In the Board’s view, the prison continues to operate within a generally safe environment with low levels of violence, self-harm, and use of force. Outcomes have been good for both physical and mental health provision, and support for men with drug and alcohol issues has been good. The Board is pleased to report the opening of D wing. Delivery of the new educational offer promotes better outcomes for prisoners and a more coherent delivery arrangement alongside therapy.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Outcomes for men as a result of frequent plumbing and sanitation issues across the wings have been poor.
Estate/Conditions
Rat infestation continues to be a problem.
Complaints/Property
Handling of prisoners’ property and canteen continues to generate complaints
Resettlement/Release
The frequent cancellation of transfers for prisoners from HMP Grendon to their receiving prison causes considerable tension.
Staffing
Staff vacancies, particularly Band 4 Officers have been an issue.
Healthcare
Healthcare does not operate a 24 hour service in Grendon.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff vacancies, particularly Band 4 Officers (and aggravated by increased staffing required for D wing) have been an issue. At the end of the year there were 10 vacancies for specialist Band 4 officers. Staffing issues in chaplaincy meant that some responses were late, but men were written to about extensions for responses.
Healthcare
Generally, outcomes have been good for both physical and mental health provision, although one man’s wait for a suitable hospital transfer was unacceptable. DART recorded many positive comments from men about the positive influence of their work, and the EPIC report commented that ‘feedback on drug and alcohol services remained very positive, with patients feeling well supported in their recovery and well informed about the risks of harms.’.
Regime & Daily Life
The fire safety project has caused considerable disruption to all the communities which has been well-managed by men and staff. The number of progressive moves for men out of therapy has increased slightly, although the reduction in delivery of some group sessions has been affected by reduced staffing levels. There are opportunities for men to engage with agencies such as Good Vibrations who offer communal music making as a means to support communication and social skills.
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 | 2 | 4 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 0 | 1 | |
| Equality | 2 | 0 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 1 | 4 | |
| Food & kitchens | 0 | 0 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 1 | 5 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 3 | 3 | — |
| Miscellaneous | 0 | 1 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 0 | 2 | |
| Property within the establishment | 0 | 0 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 1 | 1 | — |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 2 | 1 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 0 | 1 | |
| Transfers | 0 | 1 |
Recommendations (6)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 2
Recommendation 1
Can the Minister offer reassurance that sufficient funding will be made
available to address the necessary improvements to accommodation at HMP
Grendon? If so, what are the expected timeframes of this?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 1
Property and canteen issues create unnecessary anxiety and complaints from
prisoners. What priority is the Prison Service giving to effective solutions for
the continued issues with prisoners’ personal property and adherence to the
National Policy Framework?
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 1
What is being done to address the rodent issue at Grendon given the limited
impact that previous interventions have had?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 2
The frequent cancellation of transfers for prisoners from HMP Grendon to
their receiving prison causes considerable tension. What provision is being
made to improve the prisoner transfer experience, especially given the
destabilising impact it has for the Grendon community?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Are there new strategies for recruiting Band 4 officers at Grendon, given the
negative impact of staffing issues on therapy delivery?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 3
What contractual arrangements are in place with DHL to deliver
improvements to men’s experience of canteen services and to give
assurances that refunds are processed faster, especially when items are lost?
HMPPS
Complaints
Other IMB Reports for Grendon
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
2 May 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 4
Activity: 2
Release: 4
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.