Prison
Cat C adult, male prisoners and young adults
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Hindley
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 20 June 2025
HMP/YOI Hindley, a Category C prison, operated at or near its 600 operational capacity throughout 2024, housing adult and young adult males. The Board noted some positives like improved healthcare provision and staff-prisoner relationships, particularly in wellbeing areas. However, significant concerns remain, primarily regarding rising violence, high drug availability, and self-harm incidents. Unacceptable staff absence led to extended lockdowns and a severe lack of purposeful activity, while the physical estate continues to be unfit for purpose with no plans for refurbishment.
Positive Findings
The Board observed good standards of healthcare, noting positive feedback from prisoners and high patient satisfaction. Wellbeing-related services such as the gym, physical fitness team, and chaplaincy were highly commended. An improved process for managing residential complaints was noted. Relationships between staff and prisoners showed improvement, leading to more settled wings. The pre-PIPE unit provided a calm and welcoming environment with good engagement in activities, fostering a sense of community.
Key Concerns
Safety
The Board is increasingly concerned about the rising levels in violence, affecting both prisoners and staff at Hindley.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Drugs continue to be readily available in the prison; positive results from random mandatory drugs tests are one of the highest of all adult male prisons in England and Wales.
Safety
Repeated
The Board remains concerned about the lack of security and searching at the main gate.
Safety
Repeated
Rates of self-harm continue to be a concern to the Board, with HMPPS data indicating that self-harm incidences at Hindley are higher than most other similar prisons.
Overcrowding
The national problem of overcrowding in prisons is impacting on HMP/YOI Hindley, who are continuously operating at very near or full capacity.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
There continue to be extended periods of lockdown, meaning that men can be locked up in a cell that is unfit for purpose, due to size and cell sharing, for up to 23 hours per day. This is unacceptable but is the result of high levels of staff absence.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
There have been insufficient activity places to enable all men at HMP/YOI Hindley to have meaningful activities that support progress towards positive rehabilitation. The deficit has been maintained at an average of over 100 places throughout the year, meaning around 100 men have no purposeful activity to occupy them daily, and a further 250 are only partially occupied.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The Board are concerned that the current two-tier standard of accommodation, once new work commences, will effectively establish a three-tier standard of accommodation and this could provoke upset and exacerbate complaints from prisoners housed in older, more run-down parts of the prison. Much of the existing prison is not fit for purpose and not providing suitable accommodation for prisoners, with no plans for any refurbishment.
Resettlement/Release
An opportunity was missed to review those remaining in prison who in many instances have been held for significant periods beyond the tariff for the offence, with little hope of release. This impacts on their time in prison, their mental health and places additional stress on their families and friends.
Staffing
Repeated
The Board has real concerns about the lack of keywork being undertaken with prisoners and the persistent problem of cancelled sessions because of shortage of operational staff.
Safety
Hindley IMB has voiced concerns over the year regarding the numbers of prisoners who have been self-isolating for long periods, especially those with long sentences to serve. Many in this category are understood to be in debt and wish to remain in isolation for their own safety.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison experienced changes in leadership roles, with some senior posts being temporarily filled, which created challenges due to a lack of consistency. Staff absence levels were unacceptably high, peaking at an average of 22.6 days per member of staff in October 2024, with over 40% of Band 3 officers unavailable all year. This significantly impacted keywork provision and led to cancelled sessions and restricted regimes. However, the high rate of staff leaving within their first year decreased throughout 2024 to 10% by year-end.
Healthcare
Overall, healthcare needs were satisfactorily met, with the new primary health care provider, Spectrum Health Care, generally regarded positively. Patient satisfaction surveys were high, and substance misuse services by Change Grow Live were positive. Naloxone training for staff was implemented, believed to have saved lives. However, 30% of GP and 20% of dental appointments were missed, primarily due to staff shortages and lockdowns. Waiting times for non-urgent GP appointments were around two weeks, and five weeks for dental appointments. There are no beds for ongoing prisoner care post-hospital, and an increase in ambulance calls for prisoners under the influence was noted.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime was significantly impacted by high staff absence levels, leading to extended periods of lockdown where men were confined to cells for up to 23 hours per day. This disrupted work, education, and social engagement. There was a persistent deficit of over 100 purposeful activity places, leaving many men idle and leading to boredom, frustration, and increased time in cells. Many activity sessions were cancelled due to staff shortages, and some prisoners refused to attend allocated activities despite sanctions.
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) | 13 | 17 | |
| Diet | 0 | 0 | |
| Discipline | 1 | 1 | — |
| Family | 2 | 1 | |
| Finance | 0 | 1 | |
| Healthcare | 3 | 2 | |
| Legal | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 0 | 0 | |
| Property | 13 | 17 | |
| Purposeful Activity | 1 | 0 | |
| Religious | 0 | 0 | |
| Security | 1 | 0 | |
| Sentence Management | 8 | 20 | |
| Staff Conduct | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 42 | 59 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 2
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
The Board acknowledges and welcomes the changes made to IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences by the government but are concerned that an opportunity was missed to review those remaining in prison who in many instances have been held for significant periods beyond the tariff for the offence, with little hope of release. This impacts on their time in prison, their mental health and places additional stress on their families and friends. They were specifically excluded from the sentencing review; are there any further plans to right the wrong done to a still large group of men?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The prison continues to progress plans for significant expansion, and on-site work is imminent. Current national financial constraints mean that there is no available funding to upgrade or improve the existing older, cramped accommodation to an acceptable level. The Board are concerned that the current two-tier standard of accommodation, once new work commences, will effectively establish a three-tier standard of accommodation and this could provoke upset and exacerbate complaints from prisoners housed in older, more run-down parts of the prison. The Board feel this is a missed opportunity to improve the overall prison estate during significant capital programme work. The current planned capital programme is not due to complete until at least 2028, and in the meantime, much of the existing prison is not fit for purpose and not providing suitable accommodation for prisoners, with no plans for any refurbishment.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
No further funding is available as budgets are tightened, inflation in construction costs rises, project is ‘value engineered’ removing many essential elements of the project. The recent announcement of a third wing will delay commencement further as planning permission is sought, with costs likely to rise further. Meanwhile, some existing residential accommodation is unfit for purpose.
Recommendation 3
The Board continues to be very concerned about the level of the use of illicit substances throughout the prison and the apparent ease with which items enter. The Board acknowledge the work carried out by staff to attempt to minimise this, including the particularly difficult challenge of drone deliveries, but remain concerned about the lack of security checks at the main gate, where staff, contactors, visitors and their bags are seldom searched and there are limited x-ray facilities.
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Staff absence levels have been unacceptably high, which is impacting on the prisoners with extended periods of lockdown, restricted regime and disruption to work and educational activity. Although the Board acknowledges the efforts made to treat all wings equally, the level of lockdown, up to 23 hours per day, is neither fair nor humane, causing increased frustration, anger and further challenging behaviours.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Response
Regime changes have improved the periods of time that men should be out of cell. Staff absence continues to cause periods of lockdown to an unacceptably high level.
Other IMB Reports for Hindley
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.