The prison was given a full inspection in March 2023, 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 Holme House is a training and resettlement prison for adult men in Stockton-on-Tees, run by HM Prison and Probation Service. At the time of the inspection it was categorised as category C, holding 1,160 prisoners against an operational capacity of 1,179; the prison has since been reclassified to category B in early 2025, after this inspection, so the findings below reflect the regime as it was under its previous categorisation. Inspectors rated safety Reasonably Good and respect Good, both improved from Not Sufficiently Good in 2020, purposeful activity Not Sufficiently Good, unchanged, and rehabilitation and release planning Reasonably Good, also improved.
Violence was around a quarter lower than at the 2020 inspection, and 74% of prisoners said most staff treated them with respect. Ninety-four per cent had a key worker, well above the comparator average, and 79% could access the library at least weekly, up sharply from the previous inspection. Healthcare was described as good overall, with an exceptionally high standard of social care and strong mental health delivery.
Inspectors raised two priority concerns: food quality and quantity were inadequate, with many prisoners not receiving the meal they had ordered and only 15% rating the food as good, and attendance in education, skills and work remained too low despite recent leadership efforts to improve it. Only 38% of prisoners had a cell to themselves, against a 71% comparator average, meaning most were sharing cells designed for one. Inspectors also found inconsistent delivery of the functional English and maths curriculum, insufficient full-time prison industry work, limited accredited vocational training for vulnerable prisoners, and insufficient accredited offending behaviour programmes, particularly for those convicted of sexual offences.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
June 2023
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Holme House by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (6–16 March 2023, published 26 June 2023) | Easy read summary of the 2023 inspection report |
| Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2023 inspection of HMP Holme House | |