Prison
Cat B local prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Leeds
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 3 December 2024
HMP Leeds, a Category B local prison, faced significant challenges in 2023, particularly regarding overcrowding, which impacted shared cell conditions, and a concerning number of deaths in custody. The Board highlighted persistent issues with mental health provision, including transfer delays and a lack of secure beds, alongside ongoing concerns for IPP prisoners' progress and wellbeing. Staffing shortages and inexperience also posed challenges, affecting prisoner reception and key worker continuity, although efforts to improve training and staff-prisoner relationships in specific units were noted.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomed the significant reduction in unsecured doors and gates. Staff and prisoner relationships were generally positive, particularly in smaller units, and a national team provided effective training for new officers. The chaplaincy team provided important support for bereaved prisoners, and the complaints system was generally efficient. The Complex Needs Unit was credited with remarkable success in managing challenging prisoners, and connections with local hospices for end-of-life care were good. Prisoners also welcomed increased time out of cell and enjoyed the well-equipped gym. Q Branch and the charity Jigsaw continued to provide valuable services, enhancing the environment and family contact.
Key Concerns
Safety
The Board remains concerned about the number of deaths in custody, leading to HMP Leeds being designated a ‘cluster’ site.
Substance Misuse
Illicit drugs in the prison continue to be a concern for the Board.
Overcrowding
Repeated
Yet again, the IMB highlights the continuation of prisoners sharing cramped cells in which they eat, sleep, wash, use the toilet, and attempt to conduct some sort of ‘normal life’ such as watching TV, reading and praying. The view of the IMB is that these conditions go against the Prison Service’s own aims of treating prisoners with dignity and respect.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Many windows are ill fitting and draughty, causing cells to be particularly cold in the winter months. Whilst this has been highlighted in our monitoring reports over the years, there is no evidence that the problems will be resolved in the foreseeable future due to significant budget cuts in the Prison Service.
Staffing
During the reporting year, the IMB has noted incidences of a small number of staff using offensive language, either directed towards, or within hearing distance of, prisoners.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about the lack of clarity and progress for IPP (imprisoned for public protection) prisoners. Of those who the IMB spoke to at HMP Leeds, all said they feel ‘stuck’ in the system. Most believed this would not change, stating that their mental health and wellbeing were significantly and negatively impacted.
Healthcare
Prisoners have expressed their dissatisfaction at being given tablets to aid sleep in the late afternoon, meaning that they are asleep by early evening and awake again in the early hours of the following day. The IMB has spoken with the head of healthcare and it appears that the problem lies with shift patterns and there not being sufficient staff later in the day to issue night medication at a later hour.
Equality/Diversity
HMP Leeds has a number of wheelchair users but few wheelchair-accessible cells. This invariably means that wheelchair users need to get out of their chairs to access or leave their cells so that the chairs can be folded in order to get through doors.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Throughout the reporting year, reception has, on occasion, had to remain open until late at night (sometimes almost midnight) to accept prisoners because of late arrivals from the courts.
Mental Health
Repeated
There are significant delays in identifying suitable mental health beds to accept those prisoners who have been through the gateway process and who are assessed as needing to be transferred to the mental healthcare estate.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison has many newly qualified staff who lack experience, though a national team provided effective training. A few staff members were observed using inappropriate language, which the Governor addressed. The Offender Management Unit has been under-complement for years, causing stress for experienced staff training new recruits. There are also concerns about key worker continuity, with prisoners often unaware of who their key worker is and experiencing frequent changes, though a strategy is planned for 2024.
Healthcare
Healthcare is provided by Practice Plus Group, offering a wide range of services with 80 staff. However, concerns exist regarding the timing of evening medications due to shift patterns, impacting prisoners' sleep. Wheelchair users face significant accessibility issues due to few accessible cells. Late court arrivals can delay medical assessments and critical medication for prisoners until the next day. The mental health team faces considerable pressure from high referral rates, and severe mental health cases experience lengthy delays in the gatekeeping process for secure transfers due to insufficient suitable placements.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime is significantly impacted by overcrowding, leading to prisoners sharing cramped, poorly ventilated cells with inadequate privacy for toilets, which the IMB deems undignified. Cells suffer from temperature extremes and draughty windows. While regime changes have increased time out of cell, providing more social interaction, less experienced staff find it challenging. Furthermore, full-time workers in workshops sometimes miss their shower or gym entitlements.
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 | 17 | 23 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 0 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 9 | 11 | |
| Equality | 7 | 8 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 12 | 9 | |
| Food and kitchens | 8 | 1 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 28 | 46 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 14 | 15 | |
| Miscellaneous | 22 | 23 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 15 | 16 | |
| Property within the establishment | 18 | 29 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 12 | 9 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 6 | 8 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 29 | 37 | |
| Transfers | 11 | 7 |
Recommendations (7)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 1
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Overcrowding and an increase in prison populations has had a significant effect on many areas of prison life (e.g. prisoners moved away from their home area due to a lack of prison spaces which, in turn, may affect family visits). How does the Minister plan deal with this, given that the proposals for increasing the number of prison places has, thus far, fallen short of its target?
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Recommendation 2
What does the Minister consider the main impact of reducing budgets on prison life may be, and how does this affect the lives of prisoners?
Ministry of Justice
General Welfare
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Minister assure the IMB that IPP prisoners will not be left to languish unsure of their futures?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The IMB has seen no improvement in the availability of community mental health services or the diversion from prisons of those with mental health issues (see comments below). What steps will the Minister take to tackle this issue?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 5
What will the Prison Service do address the issue of mass arrivals of prisoners from the courts? When large numbers of prisoners arrive between 6pm and 7pm, it inevitably requires staff to work late in order to ensure that prisoners are processed properly.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
There are an increasing number of prisoners who are subject to gatekeeping and for whom the prison is not equipped to provide sufficient care. Referrals for specialist, secure accommodation result in lengthy gatekeeping processes, which can mean that prisoners are held for many months before they move on to more appropriate accommodation. How will the Prison Service ensure the process is expedited?
HMPPS
Mental Health
Recommendation 7
Leeds is designated a ‘cluster site’, due to the numbers of deaths in custody over the past 12-plus months. Who makes the decisions about what actions are required to ensure that the ‘cluster site’ status may be removed?
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Leeds
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
23 Mar 2026
IRP
14 Jul 2025
Unannounced
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.