Foston Hall: Report finds women's prison most violent in England

Inspectors found there were staffing shortages and violence had increased

A prison has been labelled the most violent in the women's estate in England and Wales, inspectors have said.

A report found women at Foston Hall prison, in Derbyshire, were making 1,000 calls a month to the Samaritans.

The report, by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, found violence had increased and was now higher than at any other women's prison in England and Wales.

Levels of self-harm were also among the highest at women's prisons.

'Major concern'

In 2021 inspectors gave Foston Hall the lowest possible rating of "poor" for safety and said there was no strategy to deal with violence.

Reviewing progress since the 2021 report, inspectors said: "The rate of violence was far too high and the highest in the female estate.

"While data for the last four months showed a reduction in the rate of assaults against staff, there had been an increase in assaults between prisoners."

The latest report, based on a follow-up visit in August, found trouble had increased and "leaders had no credible action plan to reduce it".

Concern was also raised over the number of inmates released homeless.

The review noted since 2021, 20% of women had left the prison without accommodation to go to.

Inspectors added: "It was difficult to assess the true extent of the housing problem as the quality of data was so poor, it was unclear how many women were being discharged into very short-term or temporary accommodation."

Inspectors found levels of violence were far too high

There was also an acute staff shortage, the review said.

"At the time of this review there were 15 officer vacancies, amounting to about 14% of the total group," the report said.

"For example, on one day during our visit there were only 13 out of 28 officers to supervise the wings."

About 300 women live at Foston Hall, with seven units holding up to 60 women each.

'Intimidated and unsafe'

Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, said: "Outcomes in our safety test remained a major concern.

"Self-harm was still very high and although women with very complex personal needs were supported well through specialist services, others who self-harmed often had too little practical, emotional or therapeutic support."

Mr Taylor said levels of violence were also "very high", saying: "Compared to other women's prisons that we visit frequently, Foston Hall felt very different in terms of violence.

"Women felt intimidated and unsafe."

Areas of improvement were identified, including work to improve time out of cells, meaning women in employment, training, and education had between three and a half and seven hours unlocked during the week.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have taken a series of actions to address the challenges at HMP Foston Hall - putting in place more senior staff, creating a new safety team and developing specific plans for the most violent prisoners."

They added a new safety taskforce had been set up to assess progress and "drive forward the necessary improvements needed".