There is a dedicated telephone line for the members of the public, external agencies, family and friends to notify the prison with any concerns about a prisoner 01283 584319
| General Details | Inspections |
| Regimes | Visits and getting there |
| Work and Education | |
Key Data and contact details
| Name or Prison | HMP Foston Hall |
| Address: | Foston, Derby, Derbyshire, DE65 5DN |
| Other contact details: | none available |
| Web Site: | none |
| Email: | not available |
| Main switchboard: | 01283 584300 |
| At Risk hotline: | 01283 584319 |
| Fax: | 01283 584301 |
| Visits booking number: | 01283 584357 |
| Visits booking email: | SocialVisits.FostonHall@hmps.gsi.gov.uk |
| Visits booking txt number: | not available |
| Type of Prison: | Closed Female prison |
Foston Hall, in a Grade II listed former manor house in Derbyshire, has been a closed prison for women since 1997. It holds around 300 women, including some on remand and recall.
The most recent independent inspection, in January 2025, rated Foston Hall “not sufficiently good” for safety, “reasonably good” for respect and preparation for release, and “poor” for purposeful activity. Inspectors found a new governor had brought welcome stability, and praised improved reception arrangements, a family bonding unit and strong substance misuse services, but recorded the highest rate of violence anywhere in the women’s estate (mostly non-serious), easy access to drugs, a broken paper-based system for women to raise everyday requests, and average waits of 36 days — sometimes over 70 — for transfers of acutely mentally unwell women to hospital. A follow-up review in December 2025 found good progress on three of seven priority concerns, including better support for remanded and recalled women and a revised education curriculum matched to local job opportunities, though careers guidance still needed work.
Given the safety concerns inspectors raised, families may want to check in closely on wellbeing, alongside using the practical visiting and contact details above.