HMIP Inspections at Leeds

The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in March 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 Leeds is a category B reception and resettlement prison for adult men in Armley, Leeds, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding just over 1,000 prisoners, nearly two-thirds of them unsentenced or recalled. A full inspection in July 2025 found outcomes had deteriorated across every healthy prison test since 2022, rating safety and purposeful activity Poor and respect and preparation for release not sufficiently good. This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in March 2026, checks progress against the concerns raised then rather than re-scoring the four healthy prison tests.

Inspectors found good progress on support for new arrivals, on staff-prisoner relationships and key work, and on support for remanded and recalled prisoners, under a new governor praised for proactive leadership. A new arrival advance and increased phone credit for new prisoners had been introduced, along with a dedicated weekly family-visits session. Reasonable progress had been made on healthcare staffing levels.

Even so, inspectors found no meaningful progress on overcrowding, with 76% of prisoners still sharing cells designed for one, and only insufficient progress on suicide and self-harm prevention, following three further self-inflicted deaths since the 2025 inspection, on drug availability, on time out of cell, and on transferring acutely mentally unwell patients to hospital, none of which had met the 28-day national guideline. The July 2025 inspection had recorded 16 self-inflicted deaths since the prior visit and found 40% of prisoners locked up for up to 22 hours a day.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
March 2026

HMP Leeds

To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below: