The prison was given a full inspection 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 Woodhill is a category B training prison in Milton Keynes, part of the long-term high-security estate, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 527 men against an operational capacity of 586, around 90% of them assessed as presenting a high risk of harm to others. Inspectors rated safety and purposeful activity both Poor, unchanged, respect not sufficiently good, unchanged, and preparation for release declined to Poor from not sufficiently good. The findings triggered an Urgent Notification issued in March 2026, Woodhill’s second, with Charlie Taylor noting it was the third he had issued for a long-term high-security prison within 18 months, alongside Swaleside and Manchester.
Reception staff conducted friendly, reasonably good-quality private safety interviews with every new arrival, and healthcare was described as a strength, with clinical leaders delivering patient-centred care and strong partnership working. An experienced new governor, in post since September 2025, showed a clear grasp of the prison’s problems, with early signs of stability emerging under his leadership. In-cell laptops helped prisoners access information and communication, and officer recruitment was underway to address long-standing staffing shortfalls.
Inspectors nonetheless found violence was the second-highest among comparable high-security prisons, with prisoner-on-prisoner violence up 23% and violence against staff up 45% since the previous inspection, the highest rate of serious assaults on staff nationally, around a third involving weapons. Drug test positivity reached 41%, among the highest in the male estate, with three drug-related deaths in two years, and self-harm remained among the highest in the adult male estate. About 28 men refused to leave their cells through fear or debt, a third of prisoners were locked up during the working day, education was suspended for around a month, and patients waited an average of 191 days for a secure mental health hospital transfer.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
April 2026
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Woodhill by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2–12 March 2026, published 9 June 2026) | Easy read summary of the 2026 inspection report |
| Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2026 inspection of HMP Woodhill | Urgent Notification letter, issued 17 March 2026 |