The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in April 2025, 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 Erlestoke is a category C training and resettlement prison for adult men in Wiltshire, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding around 500 prisoners. A full inspection in June 2024 had found safety and respect both Not Sufficiently Good, unchanged from 2021, purposeful activity Poor, a decline, and preparation for release Reasonably Good, an improvement. This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in April 2025, checks progress against the concerns raised then rather than re-scoring the four healthy prison tests.
Of nine HM Inspectorate concerns reviewed, one showed good progress, five reasonable progress and three insufficient progress; of four further themes reviewed with Ofsted, three showed reasonable progress and one insufficient. Progress on use of force was rated good, with better use of body-worn cameras and closer scrutiny of incidents.
Progress on drugs was rated insufficient, with the proportion of prisoners testing positive still static at around 32%, and progress on self-harm was also rated insufficient despite the number of incidents falling by more than a third, as case management remained inconsistent for those at greatest risk.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
June 2025
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 Erlestoke (22–24 April 2025, published 2 June 2025) | Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Erlestoke by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (June 2024, published September 2024) |