The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in September 2024, the full report can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest report the inspectors said:
HMP Bedford is a category B local prison run by HM Prison and Probation Service. Following a full inspection in October/November 2023 that found some of the worst conditions inspectors had seen – filthy, damp, vermin-infested cells, prisoners locked up for 23 hours a day and very high levels of violence – the then Chief Inspector issued an Urgent Notification. That inspection had rated safety, respect and purposeful activity all Poor, and preparation for release Not Sufficiently Good.
This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in September 2024, does not re-score the four healthy prison tests but instead checks how far the prison has moved since the concerns that triggered the Urgent Notification. Inspectors found real, if fragile, progress: a new governor less than seven months in post, self-harm down by around 40%, key-worker sessions delivered far more consistently than before, and a new segregation unit offering much better conditions than the one it replaced. Reporting of discrimination incidents had also increased sharply, supported by new diversity managers and prisoner forums on race and culture.
Set against this, violence continued to rise despite the safety initiatives introduced, and purposeful activity remained very limited, with poor access to education and work. Living conditions were improving in places but cockroach infestation persisted on many wings, supervisory staff remained inexperienced, and rule enforcement was inconsistent, reflecting a split staff culture and weak staff-prisoner relationships in parts of the prison. The Care Quality Commission separately flagged breaches in the safe delivery of care and in mental health governance. Inspectors summed up the picture as fragile progress, dependent on continued, intensive support from HMPPS centrally, with underlying problems around regime and time out of cell still driving much of the violence and frustration.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
October 2024
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
- Independent Review of Progress report, HM Inspectorate of Prisons review of progress at HMP Bedford (16–18 September 2024, published 22 October 2024)
- Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Bedford by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (30 October–9 November 2023)
- Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2023 inspection of HMP Bedford
- Urgent Notification, issued 17 November 2023, the fifth prison to receive one in a year
- HMP Bedford, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Bedford (June 2022)
- HMP Bedford, Report on a scrutiny visit to HMP Bedford (2021)
- HMP Bedford, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Bedford following an earlier Urgent Notification (28 August–6 September 2018)