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Independent Monitoring Boards annual report

Stocken

Report year 2026 Published 2 Oct 2026 Type Prison, category C Population 1,252 Responsible body HMP Stocken 6 recommendations

Original IMB report page ↗ 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 Stocken is a Category C training prison with an operational capacity of 1,285, holding 1,252 prisoners at the end of the reporting year. The IMB noted improvements in healthcare complaints and pharmacy services, but expressed concerns about the flow of illicit items, inadequate estate infrastructure, and the prolonged detention of mentally ill prisoners in segregation due to a lack of specialist facilities. Staff shortages continued to impact key working and access to activities, while the prison released a high number of prisoners without adequate resettlement funding.

Positive findings

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)
HMP Stocken is generally a safe place for both prisoners and staff. The opening of newer Wings has improved overall accommodation, and prisoners’ physical health is well cared for, with performance in addressing healthcare complaints and pharmacy services improving during the year. The Board commends the continued valuable vocational training and Prison Industries workshops, which have increased qualifications and employer links, including a new Blauberg workshop. Resettlement services have increased to support employment and housing on release, with a new Discharge Lounge and Employment Hub providing good support.

Recommendations

All 6 recommendations

Key concerns

All 8 key concerns

Recommendations 6 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: HMPPS · Topic: Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
What steps is the government taking to ensure that prisoners who are severely mentally ill are treated appropriately in facilities designed for them, rather than in the Care and Separation Unit or on the Wings?

Source text verified

Recommendation 1

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

Recommendation (the Board's words)
We have noted the rising rat population. While we acknowledge that such infestations are hard to eliminate, we are concerned that if they spread to food serveries and preparation areas, the consequences for prisoners would have to be raised at a higher level.

Source text verified

Recommendation 2

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

Recommendation (the Board's words)
This prison suffers from staff shortages. This inevitably impacts a wide variety of desirable outcomes for prisoners such as keyworking and access to the library etc. What is the government intending to do to bring the prison’s staff complement up to the necessary level?

Source text verified

Recommendation 2

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

Recommendation (the Board's words)
Sewerage: the prison continues to employ private contractors to unblock drains and empty septic tanks on a daily basis, impacting prisoners on each wing as the associated stench is disgusting. When will HMP Stocken be fitted with a sewerage system appropriate to its large population?

Source text verified

Recommendation 3

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

Recommendation (the Board's words)
HMP Stocken continues to act as a resettlement prison although it is not designated as such and has none of the regular funding available to such prisons. Given that c.400 prisoners were released directly into the community during the reporting year, what prevents the government from providing proper resourcing for this in the future?

Source text verified

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Other

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The cancellation of transport for prisoner transfers, often at short notice, is having an impact on managing the prison population at Stocken and we believe that it has played a part in at least one serious incident. Is this due to staffing shortages at the Population Management Unit and, if so, is this being addressed?

Source text verified

Key concerns 8 items

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

Key concern 1

Safety · Repeated from a previous year

The flow of illicit items into the prison, particularly drugs, however, continues to be a concern and may be linked to an increase in the number of acts of violence in the prison this reporting year. Drones have posed a particular challenge in the last 12 months.

Key concern 2

Estate/Conditions · Repeated from a previous year

problems with rats, an ineffective sewage system and a malfunctioning heating and hot water system (over the winter months) have presented challenges to the staff and have negatively impacted prisoners.

Key concern 3

Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year

the Board is still concerned about the number of prisoners with mental health problems... it takes too long to transfer prisoners to secure mental health facilities and are concerned about the length of time they spend segregated in the Care and Separation Unit for these transfers.

Key concern 4

Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year

the prison released 400 prisoners directly from Stocken in the reporting year despite the fact that it is not a resettlement prison and is not funded as such.

Key concern 5

Staffing · Repeated from a previous year

This prison suffers from staff shortages. This inevitably impacts a wide variety of desirable outcomes for prisoners such as keyworking and access to the library etc.

Key concern 6

Other

The cancellation of transport for prisoner transfers, often at short notice, is having an impact on managing the prison population at Stocken and we believe that it has played a part in at least one serious incident.

Key concern 7

Education/Purposeful Activity

long waiting times for Building Choices (BC), the new accredited offending behaviour programme introduced into prisons across England and Wales in 2025.

Key concern 8

Regime/Time Out of Cell

access to the library has been difficult for some prisoners with sessions being cancelled due to staff shortages, particularly at weekends.

Safety statistics

Incidents during the reporting year.

IndicatorThis yearPrevious
Deaths in custody3not recorded
Self-harm incidents607718
ACCT cases opened348not recorded
Prisoner assaults10368
Assaults on staff8471
Use of force570484

Population

Population1,252
Operational capacity1,285

Applications to the IMB

CategoryCurrentPrevious
Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions 23 19
Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions 23 20
E1 Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions 30 25
E2 Finance, including pay, private monies, spends 12 7
Equality 3 8
Food and kitchens 6 4
H1 Property within the establishment 21 34
H2 Property during transfer or in another facility 35 53
H3 Canteen, facility list, catalogues 1 1
Health, including physical, mental, social care 50 62
J Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying 25 19
K Transfers 17 18
L Miscellaneous 3 1
Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell 7 20
Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, re-categorisation 31 37
Total number of applications* 280 293
Total number of applications (subjects) 287 328

Report details

Establishment
Stocken
Type
Prison, category C
Report year
2026
Published
2 October 2026
Responsible body
HMP Stocken
Recommendations
6
MoJ rating (2025/26)
3, Good

Service providers

ServiceProvider
Dental healthTime for Teeth
EducationPeople Plus
Healthcare and mental health servicesPractice Plus Group
InclusionMidlands Partnership NHS Trust
Library servicesPeople Plus
OtherFirst Step
Senior Counselling servicesAnita Keene Senior Counselling services
Voluntary servicesSamaritans

Related inspections and investigations

HMIP inspection, 20 Jul 2026

Unannounced

HMIP inspection, 16 Jan 2023

Unannounced · Safety 4 · Respect 3 · Activity 2 · Release 3

Carl Hyde

PPO fatal incident · 5 Jan 2025 · Natural causes

Richard Hunt

Prevention of future deaths report · 8 Oct 2025 · State Custody related deaths

Other reports for Stocken

2025

Published 31 Oct 2025 · Population 1,264 · Self-harm 718 · Key concerns recorded

2024

Published 1 Oct 2024 · Key concerns recorded

2023

Published 16 Nov 2023 · Self-harm 407 · Key concerns recorded

2022

Published 15 Nov 2022 · Population 1,019 · Self-harm 232 · Key concerns recorded

2021

Published 9 Nov 2021 · Self-harm 349 · Key concerns recorded

2020

Published 10 Nov 2020 · Population 1,038 · Self-harm 387 · Key concerns recorded