Recommendation 1
Could the Minister provide a full explanation for the reduction of the education budget at HMP Humber?
Source · IMB Annual Report
Humber
AI-generated report summary HMP Humber, a Category C resettlement prison, experienced significant pressure during 2025 due to a high turnover of short-term prisoners, impacting its ability to deliver a consistent resettlement regime. Despite these challenges, the Board notes the staff's professionalism in maintaining safety, improving key worker sessions, and developing new initiatives like the vape-free wing. Key concerns remain around technology use, property transfers, and the impact of prisoner churn on regime and resources, alongside questions regarding the education budget and recall policy.
Year: 2025
Published: 21 Jul 2026
Type: Prison · Cat Category C resettlement prison
Population: 977
Recommendations: 5
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 879 | 1,175 |
| ACCT cases opened | 401 | 600 |
| Prisoner assaults | 35 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 9 | — |
| Use of force | 633 | — |
| Drug finds | 362 | 439 |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThe Board commends the Governor and senior management team for their professionalism and resilience in progress planning amidst limiting constraints. They note that the prison has generally remained a safe place despite challenges. The Board is pleased with the HMIP report's conclusion on positive safety outcomes and the supportive, respectful manner of reception staff. The peer-led 'pilot' scheme for induction is considered best practice. Improvements in key worker figures, the completion of a new pharmacy, and the positive impact of the vape-free wing are welcomed.
Key concerns
Reduction of the education budget at HMP Humber.
The new pre-release delivery model is to be implemented at HMP Humber, with a greater focus on, amongst others, short- and fixed-term recalls. The Board remains concerned that the result of this will be to continue the churn of prisoners passing through the prison and is unlikely to reduce the prison the population.
The current system continues to allow for the immediate return to custody of prisoners who, having previously been assessed as safe for release into the community, are alleged to have breached license conditions, which, in the majority of cases, do not involve the commission of a further offence, or at least an offence that would carry, on conviction, a sentence of 12 months or more. In particular, the Minister should set out the policy rationale for this approach, and explain why such breaches cannot be managed safely in the community as an alternative to recall to custody.
Lack of use of technology in the prison, which results in duplication and delay. There is no facility for prisoners to contact departments electronically; instead, they have to rely on pen and paper to produce documents, which then have to be collected and delivered by prison staff, with responses returned in the same way. Prisoners arriving from other establishments with more effective methods of working are often accompanied by a digital property card, which then has to be manually transcribed by reception staff.
Ongoing and systemic delays in property transfer from previous establishments, and how to ensure that establishments are held accountable for the timely transfer of prisoners’ property, recognising the significant impact that such failings have on prisoners’ wellbeing.
Conflicting demands made on the prison’s resources by the different cohorts of prisoners now housed at HMP Humber, ranging from those serving life sentences to those either on short-term recall or with only 14 days sentence to serve.
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
In the Minister’s response to the Board’s 2024 annual report, he confirmed that a new pre-release delivery model is to be implemented at HMP Humber, with a greater focus on, amongst others, short- and fixed-term recalls. The Board remains concerned that the result of this will be to continue the churn of prisoners passing through the prison and is unlikely to reduce the prison the population. While the Minister welcomed the Board’s interest in greater use of non-custodial sentences, could he explain why the current system continues to allow for the immediate return to custody of prisoners who, having previously been assessed as safe for release into the community, are alleged to have breached license conditions, which, in the majority of cases, do not involve the commission of a further offence, or at least an offence that would carry, on conviction, a sentence of 12 months or more. In particular, could the Minister set out the policy rationale for this approach, and explain why such breaches cannot be managed safely in the community as an alternative to recall to custody?
Recommendation 3
Given this, could the Prison Service explain what plans there are to roll out secure digital systems more quickly across prisons, including at HMP Humber?
Recommendation 4
What action will the Prison Service take to address these ongoing and systemic delays, and how will it ensure that establishments are held accountable for the timely transfer of prisoners’ property, recognising the significant impact that such failings have on prisoners’ wellbeing?
Recommendation 5
What steps is the Prison Service taking to ensure that establishments like HMP Humber are adequately resourced to manage complex and competing demands?
Related inspections & investigations
Safety 3
· Respect 3
· Activity 2
· Release 3
Scott Berry · Self-inflicted
Declan Carr · Self-inflicted
Richard Cosgrove · Other non-natural
Craig Chappell · State Custody related deaths
Other reports for Humber
Population 1,034
· Self-harm 1,175
· Concerns
Population 1,007
· Self-harm 725
· Concerns
Population 960
· Self-harm 344
· Concerns
Population 898
· Self-harm 544
· Concerns