Source · IMB Annual Report
Swansea
Year: 2025
Published: 5 Mar 2026
Type: Prison · Cat B/C
Recommendations: 14
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Swansea operates as a Category B/C prison for men, generally maintaining a safe and stable environment despite an overcrowded Victorian estate and significant prisoner turnover. While healthcare access is timely and education has improved, key challenges include extensive waits for mental health transfers, persistent issues with property complaints, and inconsistent staff practices regarding key working and the use of Body Worn Video Cameras. The Board highlights the need for addressing overcrowding, enhancing support for vulnerable prisoners, and improving transparency in healthcare complaint handling.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 4 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 180 | 158 |
| Prisoner assaults | 8 | 4 |
| Drug finds | 435 | — |
Positive findings
HMP Swansea is generally a safe prison with a stable workforce and good prisoner and staff relationships, resulting in comparatively low levels of self-harm and violence. The catering provision is commendable for its variety and quality within budget. Improvements have been made to the key working model, and the education team has enhanced its service delivery, particularly for those with additional learning needs. The Board notes the positive impact of multi-agency involvement in employment training and strong links established between the prison and local community through projects like the Garden of Remembrance display.
Key concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
Prisoners with significant mental health needs are being held for lengthy periods, often in segregated conditions, whilst waiting for specialist hospital care.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
HMP Swansea is constrained by an overcrowded Victorian estate.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The pace of prisoner turnover at HMP Swansea creates a challenging environment for maximising efforts to reduce reoffending and secure timely housing and community referrals.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
lack of access to exercise.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The long-overdue upgrading of the fire alarm system.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The need to allow prisoners to make applications online, thereby reducing reliance on paper systems and freeing up staff time.
Complaints/Property
Prisoner concerns about delayed transfer or loss of property between prisons.
Equality/Diversity
Inconsistency in the faith-related items available for prisoners to order from catalogue.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Property has remained the leading area of prisoner complaint for the last three years, with the IMB continuing to receive frequent complaints about missing property.
Staffing
Repeated
Variability in the quality of key working records.
Safety
Repeated
Officers leave their cameras switched off, rendering the pre-record facility unavailable. Some prisoners have also alleged that staff have inflamed incidents through confrontation or an over-zealous response, and that cameras are sometimes only turned on when the prisoner loses their temper and the heated situation boils over to a control-and-restraint event.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Raising staff awareness of the impact of limited language ability; and promoting The Big Word for translating important or sensitive information.
Food/Catering
Review meal schedules in order to reduce excessive gaps between meals and improve prisoner satisfaction.
Other
The IMB has consistent access to meeting agendas and minutes from the health partnership forum.
Complaints/Property
All healthcare-related complaints are handled by the local health board, through their internal procedure, and the outcomes are not reported or available to the IMB. We consider this to be a serious weakness in our ability to monitor all services within the prison.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Prisoners with significant mental health needs are being held for lengthy periods, often in segregated conditions, whilst waiting for specialist hospital care. Given that demand for inpatient care appears to exceed healthcare capacity, what specific actions will the Minister take to reduce delays, prevent the use of segregation for acutely unwell prisoners and ensure timely access to appropriate inpatient mental health treatment?
Repeated
Response
HMPPS has revised the national Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework to strengthen processes in areas that have driven complaints, including sending-on of excess items, handling of laundry and completion of cell clearance certificates. Governors have been reminded of key requirements, including volumetric control, so that property within permitted limits and exempt items such as legal papers, travel with the person when they transfer. Locally, HMP Swansea reports earlier difficulties linked to escort bag limits; those were mitigated by arranging retrievals and adherence to volumetric control now means outstanding collections are rarely needed. National work to monitor and improve consistency continues. The Prison Group Director expresses that HMP Swansea had previously experienced difficulties caused by escort provider restrictions, which limited the number of bags a prisoner could transfer with. This occasionally resulted in property remaining at the sending establishment. To resolve this, HMP Swansea arranged for prison transport to retrieve any outstanding items and this action has significantly reduced the issue. Such occurrences are now infrequent, with improved adherence to volumetric control supporting further progress. |
Other | In progress |
| 1 | Given that feasibility studies have now been completed, what funding will be available in 2025-2026 for the long-overdue upgrade of the fire alarm system, and when will work start? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 1 | What actions are being taken to analyse and address the underlying causes of property issues continuing to be a leading source of complaint? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 2 |
HMP Swansea is constrained by an overcrowded Victorian estate. What actions will the Minister take to reduce overcrowding and improve the physical environment, particularly in respect of the double occupancy of cells originally designed for one?
Repeated
Response
The in-cell digital programme (Launchpad) is modernising the estate and has reached a number of public sector prisons, but unfortunately there are presently no confirmed plans to deploy it at HMP Swansea. The site is pre-wired from the in-cell telephony roll-out so it can move at pace if a future funding decision includes HMP Swansea. HMPPS keeps deployment priorities under review in light of operational pressures, population needs and value for money. |
Other | Rejected |
| 2 | What plans and timescales are in place to introduce the information technology at HMP Swansea needed to allow prisoners to make applications online, thereby reducing reliance on paper systems and freeing up staff time? | HMPPS | |
| 2 | If the ‘Spend to Save’ pilot for maintaining tenancies is shown to be effective, what plans are in place to extend the scheme to local authority partners not yet participating? | Governor / Director | |
| 3 |
Following the Independent Review of Sentencing, what specific reductions in prisoner numbers does the Minister anticipate at HMP Swansea, and how will sentencing reforms address the ongoing pressures caused by high prisoner turnover and short custody periods?
Repeated
Response
HMPPS has revised the national Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework to strengthen processes in areas that have driven complaints, including sending-on of excess items, handling of laundry and completion of cell clearance certificates. Governors have been reminded of key requirements, including volumetric control, so that property within permitted limits and exempt items such as legal papers, travel with the person when they transfer. Locally, HMP Swansea reports earlier difficulties linked to escort bag limits; those were mitigated by arranging retrievals and adherence to volumetric control now means outstanding collections are rarely needed. National work to monitor and improve consistency continues. The Prison Group Director expresses that HMP Swansea had previously experienced difficulties caused by escort provider restrictions, which limited the number of bags a prisoner could transfer with. This occasionally resulted in property remaining at the sending establishment. To resolve this, HMP Swansea arranged for prison transport to retrieve any outstanding items and this action has significantly reduced the issue. Such occurrences are now infrequent, with improved adherence to volumetric control supporting further progress. |
Other | In progress |
| 3 | How are prisoner concerns about delayed transfer or loss of property between prisons being addressed, as this is a common complaint on prisoner transfer? | HMPPS | |
| 3 | In addition to acting on the twice-yearly catering survey findings, what scope is there to review meal schedules in order to reduce excessive gaps between meals and improve prisoner satisfaction? | Governor / Director | |
| 4 |
How is the Prison Service ensuring access for prisoners to purchase prescribed items, including faith-related ones, across different supplier contracts?
Response
HMP Swansea has not experienced local difficulties in enabling prisoners to purchase prescribed items or items linked to faith practice. Existing arrangements have been effective and meet the needs of those who require them. While national supplier contracts and procurement frameworks are managed centrally and fall outside HMP Swansea’s direct control. The prison continues to apply all required procedures and will respond as needed to any changes that aim to strengthen equitable access across the estate. |
HMPPS | Implemented |
| 4 | How will the Governor ensure that the IMB has consistent access to meeting agendas and minutes from the health partnership forum? | Governor / Director | |
| 12 | Achieving key working session targets and consistent quality standards? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 13 | Ensuring greater use of BWVCs, and the pre-record function in particular? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 14 | Raising staff awareness of the impact of limited language ability; and promoting The Big Word for translating important or sensitive information? Repeated | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 45 | 38 |
| Complaints | 11 | 9 |
| Correspondence | 10 | 7 |
| Discipline | 1 | 2 |
| Discrimination | 0 | 0 |
| Diversity/Religion | 1 | 1 |
| Food | 2 | 3 |
| Healthcare/Dentist | 12 | 15 |
| Legal | 4 | 5 |
| Other | 23 | 26 |
| Property | 51 | 56 |
| Regime | 5 | 4 |
| Safety | 7 | 6 |
| Staff Behaviour | 8 | 10 |
| Total | 183 | 183 |
| Work/Pay | 3 | 1 |
Related inspections & investigations
21 Feb 2023
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 4
· Respect 3
· Activity 2
· Release 3
Other reports for Swansea
Report details
- Establishment
- Swansea
- Type
- Prison · Cat B/C
- Report year
- 2025
- Published
- 5 March 2026
- Responsible body
- HMP Swansea
- Recommendations
- 14
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 3 — Good
Population
| Operational capacity | 475 |
| CNA (designed for) | 219 |
Service providers
Cell Refurbishment
Amey Projects
Charity (Employment)
Clink
Charity (Family Support)
PACT (Prison Advice and Care Trust)
Dental Services
Time for Teeth
Healthcare
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Integrated Substance Misuse Service
Dyfodol
Optometry Services
The Prison Optician Trust
Physiotherapy Service
Swansea Bay University Health Board