Prison
Cat YOI, C training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Swinfen Hall
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 12 September 2025
HMP Swinfen Hall continued to struggle, delivering reduced outcomes for young adults despite considerable efforts by the leadership. The prison is under-resourced, leading to safety concerns, staff confidence issues, and frequent weekend wing closures. Key areas like purposeful activity, staff-young adult relationships, and the paper-based application system remain inadequate. While some security improvements were noted, the overall regime and support for complex needs, including neurodiversity, require significant development.
Positive Findings
Early in the year, several positive steps were initiated, including staff training, improved cleanliness, and free-flow movement. The locked door policy implementation improved, reducing in-cell assaults. Post-incident investigations were well-managed and proportionate, and a renewed focus on security positively impacted illicit item ingress. The Care and Separation Unit and Chaplaincy provide strong support, and internal complaints are efficiently handled. Positive developments were seen in neurodiverse-friendly family visits, Way2Learn course uptake, and well-run vocational training. Family days and Care Experienced Week initiatives were successful.
Key Concerns
Other
The prison continued to struggle to deliver the improved outcomes planned for young adults in the last 12 months and in some areas has provided reduced outcomes.
Staffing
The prison is under resourced and fails to be recognised for the very specialist role it carries out with a high-risk population that presents with many issues.
Safety
The Board has consistently been told by both staff and young adults that they consider the prison to be fundamentally unsafe.
Staffing
Many wing-based staff lack confidence, or are too scared, to direct and challenge young adults over poor behaviour, and to build meaningful relationships.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Reduced availability of staff due to sickness, unauthorised absence, restricted duties, suspension, resulting in wing closures especially at weekends.
Safety
Repeated
Failures to search thoroughly for weapons resulted in increased injuries.
Resettlement/Release
Significant delays in timely production of OASYS reports for recently sentenced young adults
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The paper-based applications (prisoners’ written representations) system is not effective and the promised review to make improvements was not delivered.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Not enough purposeful activity places were available, and the curriculum lacked ambition and was impacted by staff absence and unfilled vacancies.
Staffing
Repeated
Relationships between staff and young adults were too inconsistent, with key work sessions held infrequently, if at all, for most young adults, a reflection of the considerable inexperience among the staff group.
Substance Misuse
The prison lacks enhanced gate security to prevent illicit substances from being smuggled into the prison.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The project to install Kiosks or laptops to improve how basic administration tasks are addressed for all is on hold and it is uncertain when or if it will restart. This is, if correct, a money saving exercise that is counterproductive as it increases costs adversely and reduces staff effectiveness.
Staffing
The HMPPS prison officer appointment process continues to result in some unsuitable appointments.
Safety
Repeated
The quality of searches observed on / off wing and workplaces is often inadequate and perfunctory especially considering the weapons used in assaults have been a serious concern.
Safety
For many months the locked door policy was not applied consistently on some wings resulting in a series of in cell assaults by up to six young adults, some being serious and resulting in hospital attendance.
Safety
The Board retain concerns that for certain young adults the message they receive is that these behaviours are “rewarded” by a transfer out.
Staffing
Insufficient staff to maintain safety needs during night shifts, especially if multiple incidents occur or staff are absent for escorts, leading to inability to manage ACCTs and open cells.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Wing shutdowns, especially during weekends, have resulted in young adults being locked in their cell for up to 23 hours each day.
Food/Catering
Poor quality of food and its repetitive nature, often served tepid, forces young adults to use limited canteen funds.
Food/Catering
Several servery food warmers have been in a state of disrepair throughout the reporting period.
Estate/Conditions
In CSU cells, the toilet pans are filthy with ingrained matter and their use in the current condition is inhumane; sinks are little better, with the cost of replacement cited as outside budget.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Lack of any real incentives in a principally punitive regime is particularly unhelpful for young adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Education/Purposeful Activity
Opportunities for those on long/life sentences are minimal and this has been a great concern to the Board over the reporting period, both for education and vocational training.
Healthcare
Repeated
An insufficient out-of-hours GP service and concerns that it will not carry out night visits remains an issue.
Healthcare
Repeated
Increased initial dental appointments have led to a greater backlog of treatment required, despite increased clinic capacity.
Mental Health
Despite great demand, some young adults struggling with mental health needs have been unable to access timely support.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The regime curtailments common over the reporting period have disproportionately impacted neurodivergent men.
Healthcare
Failure to identify neurodivergent conditions earlier through effective screening, as highlighted by the case of young adult B, contributed to continued self-medicating and lack of rehabilitation.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Library has an extremely limited budget for new books (£1,000 for the year, or £1.60 per prison place) and is one of the first facilities to close when staff shortages occur.
Resettlement/Release
Offender managers have an excessive caseload of up to 80 high risk and very high-risk young adults, preventing them from providing reasonable support and causing significant delays in writing sentence plans (at least 60 overdue in April 2025).
Complaints/Property
The PPO property report noted that prisons are insufficiently motivated to improve property practices, and staff often fail to store cell clearance certificates with property cards in the core record, leading to complaints.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP Swinfen Hall is significantly under-resourced, with many wing staff lacking confidence or being too scared to manage behaviour effectively, hindering meaningful relationships. Staff availability is frequently impacted by sickness, absence, and restricted duties, leading to wing closures. The IMB notes a considerable inexperience among staff, making relationships inconsistent and key work sessions infrequent. The prison operates with minimal staffing, raising concerns about safety during multiple incidents, and the HMPPS officer appointment process is criticised for unsuitable candidates. Offender Management Unit staff face unmanageable caseloads, delaying essential sentence plans.
Healthcare
The Board is generally satisfied with physical healthcare provision, but there is significant demand for mental health support, with 120 young adults enrolled in services. The Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway's Enhanced Support Service is severely hindered by staff non-availability, leading to a closed waiting list of over 60 young adults. Concerns persist regarding the adequacy of support during transitions within the OPD pathway and the failure to timely identify neurodiverse conditions, which can exacerbate issues like drug misuse and impede rehabilitation.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison's regime continues to struggle, failing to deliver improved outcomes, and in some areas, providing reduced ones. The Governor and SLT acknowledged its unsuitability, initiating a full review. The limited regime undermines overall effectiveness, with insufficient purposeful activity, an unambitious curriculum, and frequent wing shutdowns. Weekend regime is particularly restrictive, often locking young adults in cells for up to 23 hours daily. The punitive regime with a lack of incentives is especially detrimental to young adults with ADHD, leading to prolonged cell confinement without distractions.
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 | 16 | 9 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 16 | 16 | — |
| E1 Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 15 | 13 | |
| E2 Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 6 | 6 | — |
| Equality | 1 | 0 | |
| Food and kitchens | 7 | 3 | |
| H1 Property within the establishment | 42 | 38 | |
| H2 Property during transfer or in another facility | 13 | 22 | |
| H3 Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 4 | 4 | — |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 15 | 17 | |
| I Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 36 | 13 | |
| J Staff/young adult concerns, including bullying | 14 | 29 | |
| K Transfers | 8 | 33 | |
| L Miscellaneous | 5 | 8 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 22 | 33 |
Recommendations (5)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 3
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
When will the prison be provided with kiosks and young adults with laptops (which were available in the youth estate) to facilitate improved communications and ease the many unnecessary frustrations the Board observes young adults enduring every day?
Ministry of Justice
Regime
Recommendation 2
The HMPPS prison officer appointment process continues to result in some unsuitable appointments. As governing governors are not permitted to review the suitability of newly appointed band 3 staff prior to their starting the job at the prison, is the Prison Service accepting that staff appointed lack confidence and competence?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Over the course of the reporting period, the ability of the prison to deliver a full regime Monday to Friday has fluctuated. In contrast, the weekend regime has completed a second year of constant wing closures where young adults are held in patrol state for half of every weekend day. What is the roadmap to end this practice?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 4
Repeated
When can the Governor commit to introduce a fully operational key worker scheme that will address much of the young adults/staff relationship challenges and provide answers and solutions to the many small but frustrating concerns young adults raise via apps which currently are often not answered competently if at all?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 5
As many staff are quick to comment negatively but slow to offer praise, can the Governor ensure the regime reset and current staff training model will address the imbalance between negative (>80%) and positive (<20%) entries on young adults computer records?
Governor / Director
Respect