Committee publication · Correspondence · 13 November 2025
Meeting Summary of the private Roundtable with Prison Governors
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Summary
Meeting summary of a private roundtable between Welsh Affairs Committee members and governors of Welsh prisons and two English women's prisons holding Welsh offenders, held 9 September 2025. Governors raised concerns about prison capacity, drug ingress, staff corruption, mental health provision, and the impact of devolved health and education services. They recommended reforms to probation, support for residential women's centres, and earlier risk assessments for release on temporary licence.
Key findings
- All participating prisons operating at or near full capacity with high churn rates; high turnover from early release schemes and short sentences impeding rehabilitation efforts more than absolute prisoner numbers.
- Security concerns centre on drones, throw-overs, and staff corruption; governors praised body scanners and anti-drone window designs but noted women's prisons lack investment in x-ray body scanners.
- Education provision in Welsh prisons rated effective, but healthcare recruitment, contract agility, and mental health support flagged as significant concerns; differences in NHS England and Wales prescribing practices causing friction.
- Prison officers increasingly performing medical and therapeutic functions without initial training; some prisoners better suited to secure mental health facilities than custody.
- Governors recommend residential women's centres in Wales, earlier risk assessments for release on temporary licence, and magistrate visits to women's prisons to inform sentencing decisions; housing and employment critical to successful rehabilitation.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Ruth Jones MP, Ann Davies MP, Gill German MP, Llinos Medi MP, Andrew Ranger MP, HMP Berwyn, HMP Cardiff, HMP Parc, HMP Usk & Prescoed, HMP Swansea, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Styal, Welsh Government, UK Government, Ministry of Justice
Notable line
“… prison officers were increasingly being expected to fulfil medical and therapeutic functions as part of their job …”
Key Quotes
“… the population pressures facing prisons currently was only the latest in a series of crises, noting the challenges that had been posed by the pandemic”
“… at one prison it took between 16-20 weeks to conduct a risk assessment before approving a prisoner to begin a ROTL (release on temporary licence) opportunity …”
“… prisons are often the final stop within a drug supply chain, and, while governors certainly had a role to play in ensuring they did not enter their prisons, work should also be done to reduce drug supply before they reach OCG”
“… they felt the system was more effective in Wales than in England, due to the system being more 'stable' and the site of delivery being closer to those responsible for devising policy”
“… the high, and increasing, demand for such services among their prisoner populations, especially within women's prisons”
“… they were an effective alternative to custody for vulnerable women, who might be more likely to reoffend if held in a custodial setting rather than a community setting”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗