HM Prison Holme House

Reports

• NPM-uk-imb-safety1 Jan 2025

  4.1 Reception and induction The re-role to a category B establishment has had a significant impact on the reception and induction activities within the prison. The Board has observed the staff teams at the ‘front line’ of receiving prisoners in reception are aware that this can be a very difficult time for many prisoners. The Board notes that the building changes made to accommodate the increased number of prisoner movements through reception were delivered swiftly and made good use of the existing space. However, the physical facilities are stretched and congested when reception is very busy and different cohorts of prisoners need to be kept segregated. During 2025, reception received over 3,550 prisoners from the courts and police cells, in addition to over 700 transfers in from other establishments. The prison transferred out over 1,550 prisoners to other establishments. Just over 2,600 prisoners were released from the establishment during the year. The impact of the recategorisation of the prison can be starkly seen in the churn of prisoners (2,565 in 2024 compared to 8,371 in 2025). The Board is aware that there has been a very small number of situations where prisoners have been released in error (the Board notes that the reasons for these errors have been investigated and the factors leading up to the incidents arise from a variety of different functions across the whole justice system). During the year, the IMB observed the reception area to be well-run, and [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-respect1 Jan 2025

  5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation A significant accommodation development has been the establishment of houseblock 8, which has the capacity to hold 21 prisoners. There has been a focus on decency in the prison, which has resulted in some notable improvements in accommodation. All houseblocks, as well as healthcare and the segregation unit, are inspected monthly. Overall decency scores have improved during the year: CRED (clean, rehabilitative, enabling and decent) has recommenced in houseblock 1 to improve the standard of accommodation, but there are still some issues with privacy curtains and rails in a minority of cells. Cell flooring repairs have been completed in houseblocks 2 and 4 All prisoners have been issued with a cell toilet cover for decency Notice boards and murals have improved Showers in houseblock 1 have been upgraded to a high standard and others, where necessary, repaired A new washer dryer stack has been fitted in healthcare, after very long delays Houseblock 2 visits and exercise corridor flooring has been replaced There are advanced work requests for the following improvements to begin as soon as possible: Upgrade to showers in houseblock 2 and segregation unit Servery flooring in houseblock 1 and 3 Work has begun in the segregation yard to divide the yard-this will mean prisoners are able to have one hour exercise; CCTV will also be installed. Whilst the overall picture is one of notable improvement, the Board has observed that on [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-purposeful-activity1 Jan 2025

  Novus is contracted to deliver education services in the prison. Qualifications up to Level 2 in English and maths are available to prisoners. During 2025 attendance at education has fluctuated by a few percentage points around a 68% attendance rate, against a target of 68%. This figure measures the number of prisoners attending class against those scheduled to attend. The Board continues to remain concerned about the lack, in both the number and the level, of educational qualifications achieved. During the year there were almost 1,300 visits to the library. The vulnerable prisoner houseblock sent the most prisoners throughout the year. Throughout the year the library staff have had to continually focus on encouraging prisoners to attend. The Board has noted that on some occasions prisoner moves to the library have appeared to be low priority and that houseblock staff are sometimes otherwise engaged so do not prioritise facilitating prisoner to leave the houseblock to attend the library. The 2025 attendance at vocational training and work results are at 70% against a 68% target. However, this hides a steady decline during the period from April to September from 70+% until in late autumn it fell steeply to 50%, with a significant improvement back to the target in December. The result is affected because of refusals to attend, legal visits, social visits and healthcare appointments. Towards the end of 2025 significant work has been carried out to ensure prisoners are not [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-progression1 Jan 2025

  Remand prisoners are not required to attend classes or work. The Board notes the efforts made by staff to encourage remand prisoners to engage in these activities. The Board also notes the continued efforts and focus throughout the year on ensuring a consistent approach in penalising prisoners (through the incentives scheme system typically) who should be attending classes or work and refuse to do so.

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• NPM-uk-imb-preparation-for-release1 Jan 2025

  Re-categorisation and changes in national and release and recall policy has placed pressure on offender management unit (OMU). In 2025 there were: 314 OASys reports completed (offender assessment system, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners) (534 in 2024) 58 category D transfers (129 category D transfers in 2024) 34 home detention curfew (HDC) releases (202 in 2024) 530 immediate releases from court 46 releases under the FTR48 scheme (a temporary government measure under which eligible individuals recalled to custody from sentences of under four years were subject to a 28-day fixed-term recall, rather than a standard recall, to ease prison capacity pressures) 1998 ‘standard’ releases 908 recalls The reduction in OASys reports is likely due to the recategorisation of the prison. The Board notes that any backlog of OASys reports is captured daily and there has been minimal backlog during the year. The number of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners at the end of 2025 was 33, a reduction from 50 at the end of 2024. Whilst the Board has received a high number of applications from this group, it has been reassured by the comments from the Governor regarding the arrangements in place for this group, particularly in light of the increased churn within Holme House. These arrangements include monitoring by OMU, structured reviews and clear lines of communication with residential staff. Representatives from the prison have also been attending regional strategic [...]

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