Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Huntercombe
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 27 June 2025
HMP Huntercombe, a Category C prison for foreign national men, faced significant challenges in 2024, particularly regarding infrastructure issues like heating and hot water, a malfunctioning new kitchen, and inadequate healthcare accommodation. Despite improved staffing in healthcare and education, a surge in drug incidents and prisoner-on-staff assaults raised safety concerns. The rapid churn of the prisoner population due to early removal schemes impacted purposeful activity, resettlement, and offender management.
Positive Findings
The Board generally considers HMP Huntercombe a safe environment for prisoners and commends the recent window replacement programme. Healthcare staffing, both general and mental health, has significantly improved, contributing to better service provision. The education facility has operated smoothly, and the new multi-faith centre has enriched religious activities. The self-cook kitchen on Rich Wing has been welcomed by prisoners, and the physical education department's Stoic programme and 'Getting Court' initiative with schools are highly praised. The resettlement team is proactive in supporting men with various needs, and significant progress has been made with learning and work progress plans.
Key Concerns
Substance Misuse
The level of illicit items and drugs entering the prison and the number of prisoners appearing to be under the influence of known and unknown substances.
Safety
The significant increase in assaults during the reporting year, specifically prisoner-on-staff assaults which rose from nine to 40, including three serious incidents.
Estate/Conditions
One cell in the segregation unit has been out of action for most of the reporting year due to delays in getting replacement parts for the door.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The failing central heating and hot water system across the estate continues to be unacceptable, having been reported in the last five Board annual reports.
Estate/Conditions
The new kitchen is not functioning as intended, and the prison is not benefiting from the investment due to contractors no longer being in business and expired warranties, with no new maintenance arrangement in place.
Staffing
Fortnightly key working is only achieved approximately 50% of the time.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Persistent problems with property coming into Huntercombe, including property lost in transit or during transfer, lack of volumetric control between prisons, and unreliable handwritten property cards, issues reported each year since 2021.
Healthcare
Repeated
Part of the healthcare building, reported as not fit for purpose in 2022 and 2023, is still not ready for occupation, leading to reduced care provision.
Mental Health
Despite improved staffing, there is a lack of adequate space to undertake clinical care, particularly in mental healthcare, which requires confidential space.
Mental Health
Repeated
Delayed mental health transfers were raised by the Board in the 2023 annual report and continue to breach the target 28-day timeframe.
Resettlement/Release
Limited opportunities for men to undertake programmes to prepare for their release or undertake release on temporary license (ROTL).
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Offender Management Unit (OMU) has again been working under extreme pressure due to changes in sentence calculation across the service, a concern reported in 2023.
Resettlement/Release
Previous establishments sometimes issued an Annex C without completing the eligibility criteria fully, leading to errors and increased workload for Huntercombe's OMU.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Healthcare staffing levels improved significantly, reaching approximately 84% in general healthcare and nearly 100% in mental healthcare, though this created challenges with inadequate clinical working space. However, the Board noted disappointment as fortnightly key working was only achieved about 50% of the time due to various factors. The Offender Management Unit also faced considerable pressure and a 50% staffing shortfall (three Band 3s) during periods of rapid policy changes regarding sentence calculation.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision at Huntercombe has been severely impacted by the ongoing delay in completing new accommodation, forcing staff to reduce care and work from temporary spaces for over two years. Despite significant improvements in both general and mental health staffing, a lack of adequate, confidential clinical space remains a concern. Delayed mental health transfers continue to breach the 28-day target. The healthcare team also faced increased demand and had to reallocate resources to manage a significant surge in drug consumption incidents in August.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison's infrastructure presents persistent challenges, with a failing central heating and hot water system reported for the fifth consecutive year, leading to unreliable showers and anxiety among prisoners. The new kitchen, though providing a better menu, is not fully functional due to contractor issues. Fortnightly key worker meetings are only achieved about half the time, and there are limited opportunities for prisoners to undertake release programmes or Release on Temporary License (ROTL). The high churn of the prisoner population due to early releases also hinders course completion and consistent engagement in purposeful activity, contributing to a drop in available spaces for work and education.
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 | 24 | 10 |
Recommendations (7)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 2
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the Minister confirm when all the community at Huntercombe can expect to receive a consistent supply of hot water and heating?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
When will the Ministry of Justice provide replacement parts for a broken door in the segregation unit at Huntercombe?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 3
When will the Ministry of Justice provide Huntercombe with a new arrangement for maintenance of the kitchen equipment?
Ministry of Justice
Food
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the Prison Service ensure that all prisons follow the agreed procedures for all issues? The Board has reported on failures in prisoner property management and management of foreign national prisoners as two examples in this reporting year.
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As the Board has reported each year since 2021, there remains significant issues about prisoner property at transfer between prisons. As the prisoners’ property policy framework is obviously not working for prisoners, what is the Prison Service planning to do to look after prisoners’ property in a more effective way?
HMPPS
Complaints
Recommendation 6
When will the Governor be able to provide appropriate clinical space for mental health therapeutic work?
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Recommendation 7
Will the Governor review the available spaces and processes for allocating prisoners to access meaningful activity while they are at Huntercombe?
Governor / Director
Regime