Independent Monitoring Boards annual report

Moorland

Report year 2026 Published 25 Aug 2026 Type Prison, category C and YOI Population 1,023 Responsible body HMP Moorland 10 recommendations

Original IMB report page ↗ Ministerial response, 28 Sep 2026 ↗ imb.org.uk ↗

The summary and positive findings below were written from the report by an AI model. The Board's own wording is in the report linked above.

Summary

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)

HMP/YOI Moorland’s reporting year saw positive practices in reception, staff training, and some educational programs, alongside effective crisis response despite a fluctuating population and operational challenges. However, significant concerns remain regarding overcrowded cells, rising violence, and staff-related regime limitations leading to extended in-cell time. Persistent issues with healthcare provision and resettlement support for mental health and IPP prisoners also require urgent attention.

Positive findings

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)

HMP/YOI Moorland demonstrated professionalism in reception, with new procedures reducing anxiety for arrivals and in-possession medications being promptly secured. The Board was impressed by the prison's handling of deaths in custody and the care extended to those affected. Staff training in control and restraint improved, reaching 94.6%, and the prison actively works to reduce illicit substance use. The healthcare monitoring meeting and mental health services showed noticeable improvements, with a fully staffed mental health team reducing waiting times. Education provision, including the Storybook Dads project and Shannon Trust scheme, was well-regarded, with particular success in the recycling workshop which generated significant savings.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1Addressed to Other
Recommendation 2Addressed to Other
Recommendation 3Addressed to Other

All 10 recommendations

Key concerns

Key concern 1Overcrowding
Key concern 2Education/Purposeful Activity
Key concern 3Resettlement/Release

All 10 key concerns

Recommendations 10 items · 5 repeated

Recommendations were extracted from the report by AI, and responses and their status from the ministerial response by AI. Each recommendation shows whether its wording has been checked against the report.

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Other, minister · Topic: overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Is there any prospect of progress towards using fewer previously occupied single cells as doubles?

Government response (as published)

The pressures on prison capacity continue, and one of the consequences remains the use of single cells to accommodate two prisoners. It is acknowledged, however, that the legislation to implement the ISR has yet to take effect.

Source text verified

Recommendation 2

Addressee: Other, minister · Topic: education

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Will the previous funding levels of prison education and training be restored?

Source text verified

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Other, minister · Topic: resettlement

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Will increased efforts be made to tackle the shortage of planned housing provision on release?

Source text verified

Recommendation 4

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: education

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Is there scope within budget planning for an increase in face-to-face teaching provision?

Source text verified

Recommendation 5

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: other · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Can anything be done to reduce further the failures to transfer their property when prisoners move establishments?

Government response (as published)

In addition to national measures such as reminding Governors about compliance with volumetric control limits for property being transferred with the prisoner, Moorland works proactively to resolve issues where property has been left behind.

Source text verified

Recommendation 6

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: resettlement · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Could further specialised resettlement provision be considered for IPP prisoners who are poorly motivated or disengaged?

Government response (as published)

The regional IPP Progression Board is overseeing implementation of the IPP Action Plan. In Moorland, there are fewer IPP prisoners than last year. However, there remain some prisoners who are demotivated or disengaged.

Source text verified

Recommendation 7

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: mental_health · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)

While we recognise the efforts already made by wing staff to identify prisoners who are suitable for training as Listeners, we would encourage exploration of other measures, particularly among Res 1 prisoners, where the number of trained Listeners is very low indeed.

Government response (as published)

No formal response, but this remains of concern, particularly in relation to Res 1. We understand that the number of Res 1 Listeners is now so low that forthcoming releases may make it impossible to provide this service for Res 1 prisoners unless steps are urgently taken.

Source text verified

Recommendation 8

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: education

Recommendation (the Board's words)

We understand that work is afoot to offer prisoners opportunities to gain qualifications in gardening and textiles. When will this be brought to fruition?

Source text verified

Recommendation 9

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: education

Recommendation (the Board's words)

Could training in basic domestic and life skills be delivered, e.g. via Connect TV?

Source text verified

Recommendation 10

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: healthcare · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)

What further steps will be taken to improve the prison’s healthcare service?

Government response (as published)

No formal response, but the Governor has kept us informed about his attempts to tackle the perceived shortcomings of the healthcare service.

Source text verified

Key concerns 10 items

Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.

Key concern 1

Overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year

The persistent use of previously single cells as doubles, with a shared toilet, has not been reduced and raises concerns about decency and humanity.

Source wording under review

Key concern 2

Education/Purposeful Activity

Reductions in face-to-face teaching hours due to budgetary changes have led to the discontinuation of art classes and a recognised shortage of training opportunities leading to externally recognised qualifications.

Source wording under review

Key concern 3

Resettlement/Release

The critical shortage of planned housing on release prevents continuity of access to mental health support for prisoners, increasing the chance of return to custody.

Key concern 4

Other · Repeated from a previous year

Property not transferred with the prisoner continues to be a significant source of frustration, leading to numerous applications and administrative issues.

Source wording under review

Key concern 5

Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year

The regime for IPP prisoners who are poorly motivated or unengaged may not be appropriate for their needs, requiring specialised resettlement programmes.

Source wording under review

Key concern 6

Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year

Significant obstacles to the recruitment of Listeners amongst Res 1 prisoners have resulted in a very low number of trained Listeners, potentially impacting peer support for self-harm prevention.

Source wording under review

Key concern 7

Healthcare · Repeated from a previous year

Poor communication, delayed provision of services, increased waiting lists (especially dental), and high DNA rates continue to be significant concerns within the healthcare service, exacerbated by facility disruptions.

Source wording under review

Key concern 8

Estate/Conditions

Persistent problems with bed bugs on some units have resulted in a number of cells being out of order, impacting accommodation quality.

Key concern 9

Safety

A total of 216 incidents of prisoner violence, including 125 prisoner-on-prisoner and 37 staff assaults, occurred with YOs aged 18-21 involved in over half. Use of Force incidents also continued an upward trend, reaching 392.

Source wording under review

Key concern 10

Regime/Time Out of Cell

Staff availability significantly impacted regime provision, leading to many prisoners spending up to 22 hours in cell daily if they lacked access to education or work, particularly on weekends and training days.

Source wording under review

Safety statistics

Incidents during the reporting year.

Indicator	This year	Previous
Deaths in custody	7	not recorded
Self-harm incidents	477	not recorded
ACCT cases opened	272	not recorded
Prisoner assaults	125	not recorded
Assaults on staff	37	not recorded
Use of force	392	233

Population

Population	1,023
Time out of cell	2.0h/day

Applications to the IMB

Category	Current	Previous
Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions	25	17
Canteen, facility list, catalogues	17	6
Complaints	0	0
Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions	21	13
Equality	15	8
Finance, including pay, private monies, spends	16	7
Food and kitchens	9	12
Health, including physical, mental, social care	73	63
Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions	16	21
Miscellaneous	13	22
Property during transfer or in another facility	31	40
Property within the establishment	44	34
Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell	12	9
Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, recategorisation	37	38
Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying	61	27
Transfers	15	8

Report details

Establishment: Moorland
Type: Prison, category C and YOI
Report year: 2026
Published: 25 August 2026
Responsible body: HMP Moorland
Recommendations: 10
MoJ rating (2025/26): 3, Good

Service providers

Service	Provider
Dental	NHS England
Healthcare	Practice Plus Group
IMB Secretariat	Ministry of Justice
Prisoner transport	GeoAmey

Moorland

Summary

Positive findings

Recommendations

Key concerns

Recommendations 10 items · 5 repeated

Key concerns 10 items

Key concern 1

Key concern 2

Key concern 3

Key concern 4

Key concern 5

Key concern 6

Key concern 7

Key concern 8

Key concern 9

Key concern 10

Safety statistics

Population

Applications to the IMB

Report details

Service providers

Related inspections and investigations

Other reports for Moorland