Prison
Cat YOI, B, C, local, reception, resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Winchester
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 17 September 2025
HMP/YOI Winchester continues to face significant challenges including persistent overcrowding, staffing pressures, dilapidated infrastructure, and high levels of self-harm and violence. Despite these issues, the Board notes staff professionalism and adaptive responses, particularly in addressing the HMIP Urgent Notification. The prison is making positive efforts towards improvement, with some progress in repairs and adapting the regime, though key concerns like illicit substance ingress and healthcare provision persist.
Positive Findings
Winchester staff at every level remain professional, responsive and adaptive in pursuit of improvement. The Board's assessment is that, while addressing the HMIP’s Urgent Notification, Winchester is responding positively to make progress in its drive to improve conditions and outcomes for prisoners. Repairs have been made to the gym roof and some A wing corridor ceilings, and the kitchen successfully serves 2,100 meals daily despite staff shortages. Resignations of operational staff have decreased by approximately 38%, and key worker training is ongoing. Work to repair/replace mesh window grilles on B wing was swiftly undertaken.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Repeated
Staffing levels are frequently under pressure, disrupting regime and impacting prisoner welfare, violence, and mental health.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Inconsistent provision of activities and education, compounded by over-stretched staffing, high remand population, and budget cuts.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
A significant increase (28%) in illicit substance finds, linked to increased 'code blue' incidents, violence, and poor prisoner health.
Other
Late delivery of prisoners by SERCO contractors, causing staff to work late and impacting welfare.
Safety
Repeated
The total number of self-harm incidents (784) remains high and is the highest in its comparator group.
Safety
Repeated
Assaults on staff (148) and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults (273) remain high compared to other similar prisons.
Safety
Repeated
The use of force incidents (960) is 40% higher than the comparator group average.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Accommodation is overcrowded and dilapidated, with most single cells housing two inmates, and significant building repair delays (e.g., CSU, control room).
Segregation
Repeated
The Care and Separation Unit (CSU) capacity is frequently reduced due to cells being out of action, and it is inappropriately used for prisoners in acute mental health crisis.
Healthcare
Healthcare complaints increased, and doctor visits to the CSU did not meet required frequencies.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The high proportion of men on remand (over 70%) affects participation in purposeful activity and contributes to churn.
Resettlement/Release
Resettlement planning is under pressure from early release schemes and high caseloads for staff.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels are frequently under pressure at Winchester, leading to regime disruption and contributing to increased violence and self-harm. Shortages are caused by officers being removed for escort duties, bed watches, secondments, and training. Staff morale was somewhat negatively affected by the Urgent Notification. However, resignations of operational staff have decreased by approximately 38% compared to last year, and targeted training has been implemented to improve officer skills and team building. Key worker sessions often do not happen due to staff unavailability, leading the prison to deliver support through other interventions.
Healthcare
The Healthcare Unit (HCU) accommodates 17 beds. Healthcare complaints increased by over 19% in concerns, though Stage 1 complaints reduced by 27%. The requirement for doctors to visit the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) every 72 hours was not consistently met. A significant proportion of prisoners exhibit challenging behaviours and/or mental health problems. Staffing shortages within Practice Plus Group (PPG) remain an issue, with a 38% vacancy rate in healthcare staff, particularly for GP cover, senior leadership, and advanced nurse practitioners. Only 62 out of 120 required doctor visits to the CSU occurred during the year.
Regime & Daily Life
The consistent delivery of the daily regime to maximise time out of cell for education and activities is not achieved due to staff shortages and high prisoner turnover, which has led to Winchester falling below expectations. The HMIP inspection of October 2024 scored purposeful activity as 'poor'. However, recent statistics show approximately 450 jobs and activities are available, with average allocations between 80-90%. The prison has adapted its core day to deconflict domestic and activity periods, with early indications showing increased prisoner engagement.
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 | |
| Health related | 30 | 25 | |
| Other | 10 | 10 | — |
| Property (including mail, money and visits) | 52 | 48 | |
| Purposeful activity (including work/education) | 20 | 15 | |
| Security | 12 | 10 | |
| Staff conduct | 18 | 22 | |
| Statutory (Rule 39, legal, adjudication) | 15 | 12 | |
| Welfare (e.g. hygiene, clothing, food) | 35 | 30 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 3
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Will the Minister work with his team and HMPPS to ensure necessary prison building and repair works, previously agreed, are fast-tracked to satisfactory completion?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 1
The prison regime is observed often to be disrupted when staff are necessarily deployed to constant watches both on-site and off-site to hospitals, requiring two and sometimes three officers to be in attendance every 12 hours. What solution can be offered by the prison service to resource the regular need for constant watches without having an impact on delivery of regime?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. addressed
How will the challenge of managing regime be further improved to enable prisoners more regularly to have greater time out of cell?
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
Recently the core day was adapted to deconflict domestic periods with activity periods. The change is very recent but early indications are that prisoners are more engaged in attending activities when they are not required to sacrifice shower, gym or library time. Work is ongoing to ensure that incentives are available to encourage participation. Regular monitoring and feedback mechanisms – such as prisoner councils or surveys – have helped to identify barriers to access and have informed continuous improvement.
Recommendation 2
What can be done further to monitor effectively the work of outsourced prison service contractors to ensure they continuously improve their performance for the benefit of prisons leadership, staff and prisoners alike?
Ministry of Justice
Other
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What can be done to accelerate the implementation of long-standing capital investments urgently needed at Winchester – for example, building the new care and separation unit and the new control room?
HMPPS
Estate
Response
As in last year’s report there is, at the time of writing (June 2025), still no confirmed date for when the building work on the new CSU will be completed. A temporary control room is planned for completion in November 2025 but at the time of writing this report work has not started. The Ministry of Justice has yet to sanction the funding for the complete replacement of all the broken cameras.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. addressed
What are the forward plans to further improve education and activities for prisoners at Winchester?
Governor / Director
Education
Response
By embedding purposeful activity into the core of prison life, Winchester seeks to foster a rehabilitative culture that supports reduced reoffending. We have adapted to these challenges as best we can and remain committed to providing our prisoners with the best possible access to purposeful activity.
Recommendation 3
Prev. addressed
Can means be found, as a matter of urgency, in a temporary measure, to repair and replace the mesh window grilles on B wing which have been damaged or removed (pending a full project to overhaul mesh window grilles throughout Winchester)? Update: work to repair/replace mesh window grilles was swiftly undertaken and completed under the auspices of GFSL in the weeks prior to report publication.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
work to repair/replace mesh window grilles was swiftly undertaken and completed under the auspices of GFSL in the weeks prior to report publication.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. addressed
What additional steps are being taken to reduce self-harm and violence in Winchester?
Governor / Director
Safety
Response
Prison safety depends on staff vigilance and action. HMP Winchester receives around 3,000 prisoners annually, most with violent offences and approximately 70% flagged for public protection...Prisoner-on-prisoner violence often stems from external disputes and is driven by illicit drug activity. Misconduct is addressed through incentives, adjudications, and court prosecutions, supported by our embedded police team. The prison continuously campaigns for appropriate staffing levels to ensure operational capacity, and maintains a structured training plan to enhance staff competence and confidence. Drug ingress is tackled through robust intelligence systems, and we've secured additional resources to disrupt supply routes.
Recommendation 4
What further steps are being taken nationally to support prisons in addressing the problem of the ingress of illicit substances and items into prisons?
HMPPS
Substance Misuse
Other IMB Reports for Winchester
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
23 Oct 2024
Urgent Notification
7 Oct 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 1
Respect: 1
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.