Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Bure
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 6 January 2026
HMP Bure, a Category C training prison for sexual offenders, holds 639 prisoners against an operational capacity of 643. While commendable for humane treatment, high time out of cell, and low violence metrics, the Board identifies critical challenges. These include budget cuts impacting education and purposeful activity, inadequate healthcare for the aging population, and persistent staffing shortages affecting regime and support. National policy issues around prisoner wages and property management also remain significant concerns for the Board.
Positive Findings
The Board has few safety concerns caused by lack of space, with many prisoners reporting feeling safe. ACCTs are opened and reviewed effectively, and Listeners are readily available. HMP Bure places a positive emphasis on humane treatment, maintaining clean wings and an exceptionally well-managed segregation unit. The prison organises a range of services, including commissioning outside charities for addiction support and encouraging prisoner-led interest groups. There were no suicides during the reporting year, attributed to strong safety and welfare care. The library is well-managed and highly valued, and the prison supports Open University studies, with one prisoner achieving a full BA (Hons) this year. The OMU benefits from strong senior leadership, and HMIP has commended the prison for its personal re-categorisation process. Family contact services are well-managed with passionate staff and strong Governor support, receiving complimentary feedback from visitors. Resettlement boards are comprehensive, providing detailed information and assistance, with a prison employment lead actively building employer contacts and organising employment fairs.
Key Concerns
Education/Purposeful Activity
Significant budget cuts to education and workshops are narrowing curriculum and reducing purposeful activity opportunities, questioning Bure's designation as a training prison.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The shocking treatment of IPP prisoners, including exclusion from fixed term recalls, has not improved despite being raised last year.
Healthcare
There is a lack of specialised units for dementia and geriatric healthcare for the aging population, especially given no 24/7 on-site medical facility.
Other
A digital solution for adjudications has not been funded, leading to archaic and cumbersome paper records.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Prisoners' wages at Bure are lower than many prisons, despite similar canteen prices, a concern raised last year.
Staffing
Staff shortages are exacerbated by officers sent on ‘detached duties’ and frequent escorts/bed watches, impacting operational duties and key working.
Resettlement/Release
There is no national property scheme, and loss of property on transfer remains a significant issue.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Installation of CCTV on wings is severely delayed despite funding being agreed.
Safety
Frequent self-harm incidents using razor blades suggest a need to replace them with electric shavers.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Late roll calls and clashes between education and other purposeful activities persist, negatively affecting regime and appointments.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Heating in Residential Unit 7 remains inadequate, particularly for elderly and vulnerable prisoners, a repeated issue.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Breakdowns in laundry machines and shortages of stock impact cleanliness and prisoner provision.
Estate/Conditions
Slow accommodation repairs result in cold and draughty cells, especially in preparation for winter.
Segregation
Extended periods in segregation have negative impacts on prisoners' mental health and reintegration.
Segregation
Lack of urgency in assessments can lead to inappropriate extended segregation.
Resettlement/Release
Many prisoners are unable to access their Prison Offender Managers (POMs), compromising procedural justice.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The number of formal complaints remains high, reflecting last year's position, with no clear timescale for Comp1A appeals.
Other
Inadequate funding prevents the introduction of a digital property management system within the prison.
Equality/Diversity
There is a lack of accessible showers in Residential Unit 4 for elderly or disabled prisoners.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The library is frequently closed or offers limited service due to staff shortages, preventing browsing and resource use.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Small classrooms and scheduling conflicts limit education attendance and progression in core subjects.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Lack of workshop space, compounded by a recent closure, leaves retired prisoners without purposeful activity and contributes to low full-time employment numbers.
Estate/Conditions
The OMU office environment is dismal, with poor natural light, impacting staff working conditions.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Friday visit cancellations due to staff shortages and a shortage of space for the visits service.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels are impacted by a lack of trained officers for the body scanner due to retirements and turnover. Significant staff shortages arise from officers being sent on ‘detached duties’ and frequent demands for unplanned hospital escorts and bed watches. This shortage adversely affects the regularity of key working appointments, property management, and the provision of education and purposeful activity. Consequently, the library is often closed, and Friday visits are subject to short-notice cancellations.
Healthcare
HMP Bure houses an aging population with serious medical conditions, but lacks 24-hour on-site medical facilities for complex care and end-of-life support, leading to frequent unplanned hospital escorts that strain staffing. While healthcare staffing is adequate and attrition is low, not all prisoners are aware of how to make complaints. Concerns include the lack of accessible showers in Residential Unit 4 for elderly or disabled prisoners, and a need for specialised units for dementia and geriatric healthcare given the increasing age profile.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners are typically out of their cells for up to 10 hours a day, a commendable achievement, though this has decreased at times due to staff shortages and late roll calls. Association areas are small with limited communal dining opportunities. The size of double cells in residential unit 7 remains unsuitable, unable to accommodate two prisoners adequately. Additionally, clashes between education and other purposeful activities persist, impacting attendance and programming.
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 | 20 | 15 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 2 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 12 | 8 | |
| Equality | 9 | 14 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 10 | 10 | — |
| Food and kitchens | 5 | 3 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 20 | 7 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 29 | 35 | |
| Miscellaneous | 12 | 5 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 26 | 26 | — |
| Property within the establishment | 10 | 9 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 8 | 4 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 13 | 13 | — |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 11 | 11 | — |
| Transfers | 2 | 12 |
Recommendations (12)
Ministry of Justice: 2
NHS / Healthcare Provider: 1
HMPPS: 6
Governor / Director: 3
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Why are training prisons such as Bure being subject to significant budget cuts in education, including workshops, when the likely impact is a narrower breadth of curriculum and fewer opportunities for purposeful activities?
Ministry of Justice
Education
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Similar to last year, very little has been done to address the shocking treatment of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners. Such prisoners are being excluded from fixed term recalls. It is a well-known fact that people convicted of sexual offences have the lowest rate for re-offending. Is this considered when determining the criteria for schemes designed to reduce the prison population?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
Unable to commit to a full or partial re-sentencing exercise as it would pose an unrealistic level of risk to the public. The government puts an important emphasis on ensuring that those serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans and that they have access to the right interventions and rehabilitative services.
Recommendation 3
Are there plans to provide specialised units for dementia and geriatric healthcare, given the increasing age profile and fragility of many prisoners? This is especially required in those prisons like HMP Bure that do not have 24/7 healthcare on site.
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
Prev. unaddressed
Why has a digital solution not been funded to record adjudications, given that the paper records are archaic and cumbersome?
HMPPS
Other
Response
There was an evidence based whole system review of adjudications in 2023. HMPPS are building on the recommendations given in this review to improve the processes used in the management of behaviour across the estate. This will include looking at tech options.
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As raised in our annual report last year, why has a national minimum wage not been introduced across all prisons, given that Bure pays lower wages than many prisons, yet prisoners still pay similar canteen prices?
HMPPS
Regime
Response
Governors have the discretion to pay above the national set rates of pay and review their local pay policy annually. An additional £1 per prisoner has been added to the prison budget with Governor discretion on how this will be allocated.
Recommendation 6
Why are prison officers sent on ‘detached duties’ (deployed at prisons away from their usual base) when it leaves Bure with staff shortages, especially when most days several staff are required to be out of the prison for planned and unplanned escorts to hospital? Staff shortages in the establishment are impacted further by bed watches.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 7
Why isn’t there a national property scheme given that loss of property on transfer between prisons is a very well-known issue within all prisons?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Why is it taking so long to have CCTV fitted on the wings when funding was agreed some time ago?
HMPPS
Safety
Response
Funding has been secured. The tender process and design process is lengthy.
Recommendation 9
Due to the number of self-harm incidents using razor blades, will the Governor consider removing wet shave razors and replace them with electric shavers, as is happening across other prison establishments?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Will the Governor address the numerous late roll calls sometimes having to have three recounts? This affects activities and healthcare appointments due to prisoners having to return to their cells. In addition, will the Governor explain why clashes between education and other purposeful activity have not improved since the matter was raised last year?
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
The disruption caused by clashing between education and other appointments was accepted. The Board has noted that there is closer scrutiny of movement slips and planned regime changes should help to minimise clashes.
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Governor should ensure adequate heating is provided in Residential Unit 7, especially for elderly and vulnerable prisoners, and resolve the ongoing issue with the heating system.
Governor / Director
Estate
Response
It is recognised by the prison that this remains a problem. Several ‘flushes’ of the pipes have been tried and a further attempt involving a limited number of cells is planned. If this fails, it is likely prisoners will be issued with the small radiators again which are insufficient to heat the cells adequately especially as the wing is designated for elderly and physically vulnerable prisoners.
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
HMPPS should actively seek and implement strategies to increase the quality and quantity of education and purposeful activity opportunities at HMP Bure, reversing the negative impact of budget reductions.
HMPPS
Education
Response
HMPPS continues to seek opportunities to improve both the quality and quantity of the education work and skills offer. The number of workplaces in waste management and the prisoner maintenance team has increased.
Other IMB Reports for Bure
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
2 Oct 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 4
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.