HMP Hewell had made only limited progress since its previous inspection, according to the prisons inspectorate. Its report, published in September 2025, found that about 40% of men at the Worcestershire prison spent more than 21 hours a day locked in their cells.
Some men got as little as two hours out of cell each day. Violence ran higher than at similar prisons. Some acutely mentally unwell men waited unacceptably long for transfer to secure hospital care.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, put it plainly: “Hewell needs to do better.” He also saw an opportunity for improvement under a new and experienced governor.
One grade up, three unchanged
The inspectorate uses four healthy prison tests to judge outcomes: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell. Grades run from good through reasonably good and not sufficiently good to poor.
Hewell scored not sufficiently good for safety, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Respect stayed at reasonably good. The previous full inspection, carried out in late 2022 and published in March 2023, had rated purposeful activity poor, so that grade improved. The other three grades held steady.
In between, the inspectorate carried out an independent review of progress, published in December 2023. Of the 13 concerns raised in 2022, the prison had fully addressed six, partly addressed two and not addressed five. Mr Taylor called that disappointing.
Fieldwork for the latest inspection ended on 12 June 2025. The prison held 1,013 men against an operational capacity of 1,094, the number it can safely hold. As a reception prison, it takes men directly from the courts. Some 63% were on remand or awaiting sentence, and a further 10% had returned after breaching licence conditions. Around 4,600 men arrived each year, creating a high turnover.
Hewell needs to do better. The new leadership team were competent and capable and had an opportunity to bring the stability needed and drive improvement.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Violence, self-harm and mental illness
Most prisoners said they felt safe, and the prison was generally calm. Even so, the rate of violence exceeded that at comparable jails. The prison offered few incentives to encourage good behaviour.
Support for men at risk of self-harm was inconsistent. Care plans did not always include every action needed, and support often ended before the underlying problems were tackled. Some men self-harmed repeatedly and had acute mental health problems. The report said: “Prison was not the right place for them.” In the previous 12 months, 27 men had moved to a mental health hospital.
Physical security had improved. Sealed cell windows and netting over exercise yards made drone deliveries harder, which inspectors listed as notable positive practice. Mandatory testing suggested lower drug use than at similar prisons. Inspectors said the prison could have done better still by acting faster on intelligence.
Just over half of the men lived in overcrowded conditions, with two sharing a cell built for one. Support for the 178 foreign national prisoners was lacking. Staff made very little use of professional interpreters, which left some men isolated.
New arrivals left behind
Inspectors said new arrivals, who should have been a priority, were particularly poorly served. They could not get to work, training, education, the library or the gym. Delays in approving phone numbers meant some men could not speak to their families for days. Inspectors warned that this left them isolated and potentially vulnerable to self-harm.
On paper the prison had enough activity places, but it did not use them effectively. Too many men had no job. Leaders had lacked ambition in tackling the very short time out of cell for those without activities.
Some parts of the regime drew praise. In vocational workshops, including cycle repair, men gained useful skills in realistic working settings. Peer mentors known as Here2Help mentors did excellent work. Mental health and substance misuse teams delivered good care despite high need.
Relationships between staff and prisoners were a strength. However, that had not yet produced effective key work, the regular one-to-one sessions between an officer and a prisoner. Resettlement help for men on remand was far too limited, and far too many men left prison homeless or without settled accommodation.
Leadership churn
Mr Taylor said the lack of continuity in leadership had been a critical challenge. Four governors in three years had not helped stability. The report suggested this may explain why earlier concerns had not been resolved.
The new governor had been in post for only three weeks at the time of the visit. Mr Taylor said she already understood the issues clearly and had shown a long-term commitment to the prison. He described the new leadership team as competent and capable.
Recruitment of officers had gone well, but more than a third had under two years’ service. Staff sickness remained high and morale was low. Inspectors raised 13 concerns, five of them priorities, and asked leaders for a plan to resolve them. Mr Taylor said improvement would need better use of data, more visible leaders and a regime that gave every prisoner the chance to use their time constructively.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP Hewell, published on 15 September 2025, following an inspection that ended in June 2025. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
