Source · IMB Annual Report
Wetherby
Year: 2025
Published: 21 Jan 2026
Type: Prison · Cat YOI
Population: 119
Recommendations: 10
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMYOI Wetherby saw a significant reduction in its young person population to 119 by August 2025. The Board welcomed the YCS Roadmap and initial positive changes towards a child-centred environment. However, key concerns persist regarding escalating violence, the inadequate regime and conditions on the Benbow separation unit, and severe constraints on mental health service delivery due to unsuitable facilities. Staffing challenges, including vetting delays and loss of experienced officers, also impact the establishment's ability to provide consistent care.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 0 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 699 | — |
| ACCT cases opened | 183 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 32 | — |
| Use of force | 963 | 1,143 |
| Drug finds | 28 | — |
Positive findings
The Board welcomes the YCS Roadmap initiative aimed at creating a child-centred, trauma-informed environment, noting positive signs of reform. Work by staff to support violence reduction, including creating a new officer role, is commended, as is the successful management of serious incidents. The physical healthcare team received praise for their prompt and skilled response to injuries. There has been significant investment in buildings, leading to improved cleanliness and appearance across the estate, partly due to the valuable work of the Q-Branch. The acquisition of an X-ray machine and the creation of a clothing bank were also positive developments.
Key concerns
Safety
Much work is being undertaken by staff at Wetherby to support violence reduction, which the Board welcomes, including the creation, in April 2025, of the violence reduction officer role. Many young people in Wetherby are remanded or sentenced for violent offences: violent assaults continue to be a cause for concern. Young people say that they carry improvised weapons because they feel unsafe, so it becomes a vicious circle.
Safety
There were 27 in-cell fires recorded during the reporting year. Cell fires are not an uncommon occurrence at Wetherby, and there are a few young people who are known arsonists.
Estate/Conditions
There continue to be areas of the establishment that remain in a poor condition or in need of repair. However, the recent considerable investment in the buildings has undoubtedly improved the whole environment.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
It is the view of the Board that the separation wing, Benbow, has not been fit for purpose for years. The regime...is frequently minimal, with many young people spending up to 23 hours in their room. The size of the rooms only just reaches the basic standard.
Mental Health
Repeated
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) informs us that they continue to experience difficulty in delivering interventions, due to the lack of suitable rooms in which to see the young people on the wings.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board remains concerned about the lack of TOoR for young people who choose to self-isolate or who are placed in the care and separation unit, although this is usually for less than two hours.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Challenges in recruiting and retaining teaching staff, combined with a curriculum that did not seem to fully meet the needs or interests of young people and which led to disengagement, resulted in an educational provision that required significant improvement.
Overcrowding
At the end of the reporting year, 42 young people were held on remand in Wetherby. What urgent measures is the Minister implementing to reduce these delays and ensure timely access to justice?
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board remains concerned about the lack of suitable pathways available for the increasing number of young people who have very lengthy sentences.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Local authorities are slow to meet their obligations with respect to these young people. What specific steps will the local authority take to guarantee that accommodation is secured and assigned well before release?
Safety
Repeated
Despite many valuable improvements to the conditions of care at Wetherby, violent incidents among young people remain a problem, with the severity of attacks and injuries escalating.
Segregation
Repeated
What specific steps will you take to further reduce the use of separation and self-isolation, while significantly increasing meaningful TOoR?
Mental Health
Repeated
Unacceptable delays continue in securing an appropriate external mental health bed for those few young people who, clearly, are too mentally unwell to be in Wetherby.
Resettlement/Release
Immigration agents often do not communicate clearly with staff at Wetherby.
Staffing
Delays in staff vetting are currently the main reason for the high number of vacancies.
Staffing
During the reporting year, almost 19% of the band 3-5 officers retired, resulting in a huge loss of experience.
Other
There continues to be a lack of clarity amongst some staff and young people alike. Young people tell us that they are uncertain as to who their CuSP officer is and many are unclear about the purpose of CuSP.
Complaints/Property
Many young people remain uncertain about who their wing representative is or how they can contribute to meetings.
Equality/Diversity
Some young people believe that racial abuse towards white young people from other young people and staff frequently goes unchallenged.
Other
We were, therefore, surprised this year to receive applications and verbal requests from young people to say that they have not had a response to queries or applications they have submitted to chaplaincy.
Food/Catering
Young people on Benbow frequently tell members of the Board that they think the portions of food are smaller on the unit.
Complaints/Property
Some young people tell the IMB that they have no confidence in the [complaints] system.
Other
The establishment received 189 complaints regarding property, often due to items missing or delays in receipt.
Mental Health
CAMHS tells us that their service delivery is severely constrained by the lack of dedicated, private spaces and an outdated physical infrastructure that is not designed for therapeutic work.
Mental Health
Operational challenges, including low numbers of staff, restricted access to movement officers, regime constraints and education-hour restrictions, further limit flexibility and responsiveness, making assessments for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) difficult to complete.
Mental Health
The absence of set review times and variable communication continue to disrupt CAMHS’ scheduling and service delivery.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about the lack of suitable accommodation for a ‘looked-after child’ to be released. It can be as little as a day or two prior to release that the accommodation is finally secured.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Receiving financial support in a timely manner or, indeed, sometimes not at all, continues to be a problem for some looked-after children. The social work team reports that the situation is getting worse as local authorities struggle financially.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
At the end of the reporting year, 42 young people were held on remand in Wetherby. What urgent measures is the Minister implementing to reduce these delays and ensure timely access to justice?
Response
The Board thanked the previous Minister for Youth Justice for his full and detailed reply to their annual report. |
Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 |
What decisive actions will the Minister take to strengthen coordination and accountability between YOIs and partner agencies, such as immigration services, the adult estate and local authorities, to ensure a seamless and safe handover?
Response
The Board thanked the previous Minister for Youth Justice for his full and detailed reply to their annual report. |
Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 |
The Board remains concerned about the lack of suitable pathways available for the increasing number of young people who have very lengthy sentences. What concrete progress has the Government made and what commitments are in place to develop and implement these pathways?
Repeated
Response
The Board thanked the previous Minister for Youth Justice for his full and detailed reply to their annual report. |
Ministry of Justice | |
| 4 |
What specific steps will the local authority take to guarantee that accommodation is secured and assigned well before release?
Repeated
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Other | |
| 5 |
What mechanisms will be put in place to ensure local authorities are fully accountable for meeting their statutory duties toward young people in care - both during custody and on release - and what consequences will follow if these obligations are not met?
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Other | |
| 6 |
What specific actions and resources will be committed to ensure care leavers receive comprehensive support on release, including stable accommodation, access to education or employment and continuity of care, to prevent them from falling through the gaps?
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Other | |
| 7 |
What steps will the Youth Custody Service take to reduce delays and ensure a smooth, timely transition for young people moving from youth custody to the adult estate?
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
HMPPS | |
| 8 |
How will you support staff and young people to work together towards a less unitive, needs-led culture?
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Governor / Director | |
| 9 |
Despite many valuable improvements to the conditions of care at Wetherby, violent incidents among young people remain a problem, with the severity of attacks and injuries escalating. How do you plan to reduce the severity of violence?
Repeated
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Governor / Director | |
| 10 |
What specific steps will you take to further reduce the use of separation and self-isolation, while significantly increasing meaningful TOoR?
Repeated
Response
We received no response to the report from the YCS, the Governor or any local authority. |
Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 45 | 38 |
| Complaints system (including timeliness) | 21 | 10 |
| Discrimination (DIRFs) | 12 | 8 |
| Family communication | 5 | 7 |
| Food | 18 | 20 |
| Healthcare | 4 | 5 |
| Legal | 14 | 12 |
| Property | 21 | 10 |
| Regime/TOoR | 5 | 97 |
| Staff behaviour (inc. assaults on YP) | 14 | 11 |
| Total | 160 | 208 |
| Transfers | 1 | 0 |
Other reports for Wetherby
Report details
- Establishment
- Wetherby
- Type
- Prison · Cat YOI
- Report year
- 2025
- Published
- 21 January 2026
- Responsible body
- YOI Wetherby
- Recommendations
- 10
Population
| Population | 119 |
| Operational capacity | 288 |
Service providers
Catering
Aramark
Chaplaincy
Multi-faith
Education
Novus
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group
IMB Secretariat
Ministry of Justice
Mental health
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Prisoner Escort Services
GeoAmey
Substance misuse
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