HMIP Inspections of Hindley

The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in August 2024, 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:

HMYOI Hindley is a category C training and resettlement prison near Wigan, Greater Manchester, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding both young adults and older adult men despite retaining its YOI name, with around a third of the population under 25. At the time of the last full inspection, in November/December 2023, it held 593 prisoners against a certified normal capacity of around 600. That inspection rated safety and respect both Not Sufficiently Good, purposeful activity Poor, and preparation for release Reasonably Good, all unchanged from 2017. This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in August 2024, checks progress against the eight concerns raised then rather than re-scoring the four healthy prison tests.

Inspectors found reasonable progress on violence reduction, staff-prisoner relationships and food quality. Assaults between prisoners had fallen by around a fifth, and staff assaults were down by around 40%, with improved staff confidence reported.

Even so, inspectors found insufficient progress on five of the eight concerns: infrastructure and accommodation, drug availability, self-harm, the prisoner applications process, and time out of cell. The positive drug test rate, already the highest of any prison in England and Wales at the 2023 inspection at 52.8%, had worsened further to 77% by April 2024. Self-harm incidents had risen by nearly 40% over comparable six-month periods, and major capital works to address the ageing infrastructure were reportedly not expected until at least 2027.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
September 2024

HMYOI Hindley

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