The prison was given a full inspection in May 2025, jointly with the linked HMP/YOI Prescoed, 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 Usk is a category C resettlement prison in Monmouthshire, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 274 men against an operational capacity of 276, under the same operational management as the open prison HMP Prescoed a few miles away. Inspectors rated safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release all Good, an improvement on the previous inspection when the latter two were only reasonably good. The population skewed notably older than at Prescoed, with 42% of prisoners over 50, reflecting Usk’s role as the more secure, closed end of the linked resettlement pathway.
Violence and drug use were very low, with just five recorded assaults and five use-of-force incidents in the previous year, no segregation unit, and mandatory drug testing positivity of only 0.61%. Staffing levels, experience and retention were all rated good, and prisoners got more than nine hours out of cell daily including evening association. Education was rated Good by Estyn, post-release employment reached 15% against a 7% target, and family contact was a particular strength, with 48% of prisoners receiving more than one visit a month against a 27% comparator average, supported by free legal advice clinics on family issues and parent-teacher meetings for prisoners and their children.
Inspectors nonetheless found cramped multi-occupancy cells with limited storage and natural light, an unresolved concern carried over from the previous inspection. Key work was patchy, with an average wait of 52 days for a first session despite most prisoners rating their key worker helpful once allocated. Only 47% of prisoners reported being seen by health staff at reception, well below the 79% comparator average, and limited clinical space meant infection control was not always followed, with no documented care plans for long-term conditions. The education department’s lean staffing structure was also flagged as limiting capacity to expand provision.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
August 2025
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 Usk and HMP/YOI Prescoed by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (12–22 May 2025, published 12 August 2025) | Easy read summary of the 2025 inspection report |
| Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2025 inspection of HMP Usk and HMP/YOI Prescoed | |