Eastwood Park

I appreciate the Board’s suggestion about distributing prolific self-harmers more evenly throughout the women’s estate. An individual’s prison location is based on the proximity to their home area, the availability of interventions to help them progress in their sentence plan, and the levels of security required. Moving a vulnerable individual has the potential to further destabilise them as moving them further from home, children and families can impact negatively on resettlement and putting an end to any positive relationships they may have built during their time at an establishment. The women’s estate strives to only transfer an individual in their own best interest and moving someone who has a history of self-harm because of their self-harming behaviour would be adversative to this. The Women’s Estate Case Advice and Support Panel (WECASP) continues to support prisons in the management of complex needs women and is a resource available to all those located in the women’s estate irrespective of sentence length or recall status.

The women’s expansion programme was officially suspended in March 2024. The Lord Chancellor has launched the Women’s Justice Board to address the distinct needs of women in the criminal justice system, with the aim of fewer women in prison and more supported in the community. It will initially focus on early intervention, community solutions and improving outcomes for young adult women, pregnant women and mothers of dependent children.

An options and feasibility study for the demolition or replacement of Residential Unit 7 at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park was recently completed and the Rapid Deployment Cells Programme were taking its replacement through governance assurance as part of their ongoing programme. Increased costs at the final business case stage meant that the replacement project did not offer value for money and HMP/YOI Eastwood Park was de-scoped from that programme. The project will now be reconsidered for potential capital funding in the current financial year.

At HMP/YOI Eastwood Park, 63% of all eligible hearings took place using video-link hearing capacity compared with a national average of 53% (as at February 2025). HMPPS recognises the important part video-link provision plays in improving efficiency in the women’s estate by reducing the amount of time women spend travelling from prison to court and back, especially those who are pregnant or new mothers. To help improve decency in the women’s estate, HMPPS is working hard to progress a video conferencing centre at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park. However, this remains subject to confirmed funding and any subsequent contract award.

Following the HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) Thematic Inspection "Time to Care: What Helps Women Cope in Prison?", HMPPS has committed to several measures related to UoF. Funding will be sought for a dedicated UoF co-ordinator for twelve months to provide specialist oversight in the prisons most in need of support, and a full-time UoF co-ordinator is now in place at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park. Additionally, a UoF Insights and Assurance Lead will be introduced for an initial 12-month period to improve practices in women's prisons. The HMPPS Operational Response and Resilience Unit (ORRU) will review incidents involving UoF highlighted by HMIP, explore revalidation courses for instructors, and drive the implementation of a new UoF curriculum. The ORRU will also consider developing an Independent Restraint Review Panel and offer healthcare staff training on the medical risks associated with UoF techniques. The ORRU team facilitated two Continuous Professional Development days at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park in March 2025 and are assisting with local governance and assurance.
Data indicates a reduction in UoF since the beginning of the year. To further decrease these levels, the HMPPS Women's Group and HMPPS Safety Group will convene a forum with Governors/Directors in the Women's Estate and wider partners to identify and share promising practices for safer outcomes. HMPPS and HMP/YOI Eastwood Park will work with the Ministry of Justice to develop an evidence-based approach to target safety support effectively, aiming to reduce violence, self-harm, and suicide across the women's estate.
HMPPS has also piloted strengthened governance arrangements regarding the use of alternative clothing, reaffirming that alternative clothing is only used as a last resort, and all women’s prisons have implemented the guidance. Since the end of April 2024, ‘Behind the Behaviour’ (BTB) training has begun to be rolled out to operational staff at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park. Up to February 2025, 140 staff across the prison had completed the training. This programme of training continues, and plans are in place to support the staff who have completed the training to consistently implement the learning. At another site where BTB has been implemented this has contributed to the staff using force less, as they are more skilled and confident in de-escalating situations which might otherwise have resulted in force being used. It is hoped that over time, as more staff undertake the training, these impacts will be observed at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park.

HMPPS recognises that the challenges of a prison environment can have negative effects on staff and consequently there is a range of services available to support the staff wellbeing. Within HMPPS’ Women’s Group, a number of specific additional measures are also being trialled, including psychologists providing supervision to staff in particular areas of prisons such as the Cherry Blossom and Induction units at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park. The Enable team is also testing an approach of staff support across a number of prisons, and at HMP/YOI Styal a different approach to staff support is being tested, called Staff Space. This will provide monthly one-to-one sessions between every operational member of staff and a registered forensic psychologist, and an evaluation is being carried out on the impact of this. Staff Space is now available on some residential units with a plan to roll out across the site once adequate staffing is available. Across HMPPS’ Women’s Group there is also a focus on developing understanding of assaults by prisoners so that the organisation is better able to understand and reduce violence against staff.

HMP/YOI Eastwood Park has 98.13% staff in post against their target staffing figure, with a healthy number of Band 3 Officers on the merit list available to take up future positions. The Operational Priorities for prisons in 2025/26 include building staff capability and confidence. A suite of core capability packages to help support Prison Officers confidence, capability, and knowledge building, is due to be made available soon with a local delivery plan to be agreed once available. HMPPS is building on the introduction of gender specific training available for new Prison Officers, and the Working with Women e-learning package, by considering the views from staff who have completed the training to date and incorporate into a review of content. In addition, HMPPS plans to evaluate women specific Band 3 Prison Officer Entry Level Training and refresher training to ensure that training meets the needs of this staff group.
HMP/YOI Eastwood Park allocates each new prison officer a buddy who they shadow during the first two weeks after returning from training. The buddy will continue to work with them alongside the Learning and Capability Manager and line manager providing ongoing support. HMP/YOI Eastwood Park has previously received bespoke support from the Standards Coaching Team (SCT). A further application will be submitted for additional deployment to the prison and if successful, SCT will work with the Senior Leadership Team and develop a targeted action plan with the overall purpose of developing confidence, competence and empowering staff in their roles.

It was confirmed that some funding had been made available. Premises have been purchased in Swansea for conversion into a residential women’s centre and planning permission obtained. The programme to convert/open this facility is unknown.

Following a survey of residential unit 2, it was deemed unfit for habitation and closed in July 2022. Tenders were obtained for dampness remediation and refurbishment works. Due to delays in commencing these works, residential unit 2 did not reopen until April 2024.