HMP Hewell prison making positive progress, report finds

A report said the prison was making "positive progress" under challenging circumstances

A prison previously described as "unfit" has made positive progress despite population pressures.

HMP Hewell, near Redditch in Worcestershire, is safer and cleaner, according to the latest report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB).

Inspectors had found it had attempted to provide "meaningful activity, education and support" to prisoners.

The prison service said it had hired more staff to enable prisoners to spend more time outside cells.

HMP Hewell was told to improve after an earlier report found it was unfit for the "21st century," and that social distancing restrictions during the pandemic in 2020 had left some prisoners without access to a shower for weeks.

The IMB praised the prison's "clean, decent and human regime," and noted that changes had been made since the previous report, despite high numbers of men on remand for long periods and accommodation limitations having reduced the "positive impact" of the prison's rehabilitation and resettlement work.

It added that cell sharing with open toilets in spaces where prisoners eat and sleep had continued to be an "inhumane reality," and suggested an investment to end the practice would reduce friction between inmates.

Attention was also drawn to limited accessibility facilities for prisoners with disabilities, but the board highlighted that a designated unit for men with complex mental health needs had achieved positive results.

'Despair of endless detention'

However, it found that the wait for transfers to the unit was "unacceptably long", with one man waiting 145 days, adding that it was concerned about others who had been held in segregation whilst awaiting transfer.

The board also urged the Secretary of State to take action to reduce the number held under indeterminate sentences or Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and added that changes would reduce the "despair of endless detention" and would free up accommodation and resources.

Indeterminate sentences were abolished in 2012 but the change was not retrospective, meaning hundreds of inmates remain in custody with no end date, despite having served their sentences.

A spokesperson for the prison service said: "Since this inspection, HMP Hewell has hired more staff to increase prisoners' time out of cells and improve access to activities that boost rehabilitation and help them turn their backs on crime."