The prison was given a full inspection in May 2026, 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 Five Wells is a category C training and resettlement prison for adult men in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, run by G4S. It opened in February 2022 as Britain’s first purpose-built “smart prison”, and held 1,742 men against a stated capacity of 1,769 at the time of this inspection, more than half serving sentences for sexual offences and around seven in ten assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to others.
Inspectors found that the prison had stabilised significantly since its troubled early years, under its now experienced director. Violence between prisoners, especially those under 25, had roughly halved year-on-year, helped by a targeted gang-intervention approach, and the proportion of prisoners testing positive for drugs had fallen from around 30% to 17%. Staff-prisoner relationships were described as notably good, and the environment as calm and orderly, with around six in ten prisoners surveyed feeling their time at Five Wells had reduced their likelihood of reoffending.
Self-harm remained a serious concern, with rates well above those seen at comparable prisons, though down slightly on the previous year. Healthcare waiting times for GP and dental appointments were unacceptably long, in some cases running to around 12 weeks, and psychological and emotional support was judged insufficient. Education and work spaces were too limited for the size of the population, making it difficult for prisoners to complete their sentence plan targets, and both purposeful activity and preparation for release were rated not sufficiently good.
Inspectors also found weaknesses in public protection arrangements, including serious errors in some prisoners’ sentence calculations, a particular concern given the high proportion of sexual offenders held at the prison. Overcrowding was also flagged, with some originally single cells now holding two people.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
August 2026
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
- Inspection report, HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Five Wells by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (11–21 May 2026)
- Action plan (202 kB), HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2026 inspection of HMP Five Wells
- Independent Review of Progress (694 kB), HM Inspectorate of Prisons review of progress at HMP Five Wells (4–6 November 2024, published 9 December 2024)
- Inspection report (1.4 MB), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Five Wells by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2–12 January 2024)
- Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2024 inspection of HMP Five Wells