Winchester

Providing staff for bed watches and constant supervision continues to be a significant challenge for the prison service. Whilst establishments aim to plan cover in advance, there is a frequent requirement to respond at short notice due to illness, accidents, or incidents of self-harm. Additionally, often many prisoners have neglected their healthcare needs prior to arrival and consequently there is an increased demand for external hospital escorts in a local prison setting. This work is unprofiled at HMP/YOI Winchester, and although overtime is available, local prisons tend to be reliant on staff volunteering for additional hours to provide cover. Bedwatches (hospital admissions) and some instances of constant supervision are commissioned by NHS England and undertaken by HMPPS staff. Some of the cost of undertaking bedwatch activity is cross-charged to NHS England and the funds that are recovered can be used to support the prison regime. Instances of constant supervision and bedwatch are unpredictable, meaning it wouldn’t be efficient to fund either of them permanently at a local level. A joint HMPPS/NHSE national review of Escorts, Bedwatches and Constant Supervision is underway, and it is hoped this will lead to improvements in this area of prison delivery.

Recently the core day was adapted to deconflict domestic periods with activity periods. The change is very recent but early indications are that prisoners are more engaged in attending activities when they are not required to sacrifice shower, gym or library time. Work is ongoing to ensure that incentives are available to encourage participation. Regular monitoring and feedback mechanisms – such as prisoner councils or surveys – have helped to identify barriers to access and have informed continuous improvement.

The permanent Control Room completion is projected for August 2027. In the meantime, the Emergency Control Room is due to be completed in December. Unfortunately, there has been a slight delay to this due to issues identified and needing a revised programme or works but work is now progressing well. As per my 6-month update letter, the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) project has been remobilised and anticipated completion remains at February 2027. Additional information about the Control Room and CSU is contained in the attached annex. Care and Separation Unit (CSU) The contract has been re-tendered and awarded to a new contractor. The work is due to start in November 2025. MoJ Property Directorate have been working with the constructor to support and share information in advance to expedite validation and commencement of works, with the new CSU now projected for completion by February 2027. Control Room This work has been awarded to the contractor that is delivering the CSU. The work is due to start in November 2025. Work on the temporary Emergency Control Room has started and MoJ property services have surveyed the existing CCTV provision and have replaced the faulty cameras. There continues to be a robust local contingency plan in place in the event of any loss of service. The project to permanently replace the existing control room and upgrade the CCTV system is expected to conclude by August 2027.

As in last year’s report there is, at the time of writing (June 2025), still no confirmed date for when the building work on the new CSU will be completed. A temporary control room is planned for completion in November 2025 but at the time of writing this report work has not started. The Ministry of Justice has yet to sanction the funding for the complete replacement of all the broken cameras.

By embedding purposeful activity into the core of prison life, Winchester seeks to foster a rehabilitative culture that supports reduced reoffending. We have adapted to these challenges as best we can and remain committed to providing our prisoners with the best possible access to purposeful activity.

Notwithstanding the invocation of the Urgent Notification, there are issues to be addressed at the prison and that is why I was encouraged to receive your comments about the reduction in the number of assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) cases together with the opening of the specialist neurodiverse landing on C wing. A testament to it’s success is the number of referrals received from other establishments.

Prison safety depends on staff vigilance and action. HMP Winchester receives around 3,000 prisoners annually, most with violent offences and approximately 70% flagged for public protection...Prisoner-on-prisoner violence often stems from external disputes and is driven by illicit drug activity. Misconduct is addressed through incentives, adjudications, and court prosecutions, supported by our embedded police team. The prison continuously campaigns for appropriate staffing levels to ensure operational capacity, and maintains a structured training plan to enhance staff competence and confidence. Drug ingress is tackled through robust intelligence systems, and we've secured additional resources to disrupt supply routes.

Prisons have a range of physical security countermeasures to reduce the ingress and conveyance of illicit items, including X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security (EGS), X-ray baggage scanners, detection dogs, and drug trace detection equipment. As of March 2024, over 53,000 positive indications had been recorded by our X-ray body scanners. This year, HMPPS has invested over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons, which includes anti-drone measures such as window replacements, external window grilles, and netting across 15 priority prisons.