Winchester Prison: Decaying buildings undermine jail's progress, report says

HMP Winchester was mostly built in 1846

Crumbling buildings are continuing to deteriorate at a Victorian prison, undermining improvements in staffing and culture, a report says.

HMP Winchester has "leaking roofs and rotting outside stairways", an Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) inquiry found.

Plastic sheets wrapped around broom handles and makeshift pipework are being used to catch leaks, it said.

The Prison Service said it was working "at pace" on repairs.

The IMB said the jail - mostly built in 1846 - had falling masonry, crumbling steps and unreliable heating in winter.

Inspectors found a "jury-rig of pipework and buckets" in a gym and a "framework of broom handles and plastic" in a staff toilet to catch leaks.

The IMB found makeshift pipework to catch leaks and crumbling ceilings

Work on a new Care and Segregation Unit - replacing a building described as a "dungeon" in previous reports - had stopped amid arguments over the design, they said.

However, the IMB welcomed the jail's progress in 2022/23, under a "determined senior leadership team".

It said national recruitment efforts had resulted in "the highest staffing levels for many years".

The report added: "HMP Winchester has developed its own ethical framework and code of conduct with positivity, holding people accountable and being more compassionate at its heart."

There was a reduction in assaults on staff, although they remained higher than at other prisons.

Increased pest control had also reduced the rat population, the report said.

The Prison Service said it welcomed the IMB's observations on strong leadership and staff numbers.

A spokesperson said: "[This has] helped improve prisoners' time out of cells which will ensure more can engage in the training and education they need to turn their backs on crime.

"We are also working at pace to deliver essential maintenance and repairs at the prison, while expanding the scheme which provides temporary accommodation support to offenders on release."

HMP Winchester includes a men's prison, which holds long-term and high-security inmates, as well as a young offender institution.

In April, it reported an operational capacity of 678 inmates, up from 564 in February 2022.