HMP Coldingley

Reports

• HMIP10 Nov 2025

  HMP Coldingley is a category C adult male training and resettlement prison in Surrey. Opened in 1969, it is an aging facility that has undergone some additional development since then, although recent initiatives to update the prison had been disrupted. At the time we inspected, 505 men were in residence. At this inspection we report some deterioration in safety outcomes, our principal concern being the widespread use of illicit drugs. Mandatory drug testing rates were among the highest nationally for all prisons, the smell of cannabis was evident around the prison and 43% of prisoners reported that drugs were easily available. The scale of the problem had now been acknowledged by leaders and they had revised their strategy, although many specific operational responses were still in the early stages of implementation. Other necessary measures, including the need for improved gate security, and other critical infrastructure requirements – such as adequate CCTV coverage and secure windows – would require significant investment, which had not yet been approved. The scale of the problem had recently been gripped, and leaders had now reset their strategy, although many responses were still in the early stages of implementation. Others, like better gate security, and critical requirements, such as adequate CCTV coverage and secure windows, required major investment that had yet to be confirmed. Serious prisoner-on-prisoner assaults remained high, and weaknesses in supervision, searching, and CCTV coverage all created opportunities for violence and the illicit economy to flourish. Staff presence on the landings was intermittent and inconsistent, and staff did not always challenge poor behaviour. Living conditions on the older wings remained problematic, with some areas still reliant on antiquated cell sanitation arrangements. Some communal facilities were shabby and even unpleasant. Leaders had secured funding for refurbishment, but delays caused by contractual issues meant progress had stalled. Nevertheless, there had been improvements, notably the refurbishment of B Wing and the designation of the G Wing modular units as enhanced accommodation to incentivise positive behaviour. Cleanliness was, despite all the challenges, reasonably good, and prisoners took pride in their environment. Staff-prisoner relationships were generally good; 80% of prisoners said they were treated with respect. Senior leaders were visible and accessible, and the governor’s weekly drop-in session in the library was exemplary and highly valued. The key worker scheme was reasonably well established, although the quality of work was, at best, inconsistent. Consultation with prisoners was improving, with a democratically-elected prisoner council and regular forums, but further work was needed to ensure inclusivity and a focus on action. Attendance at work and education was not good enough; too many prisoners missed planned activities and there were insufficient education places in, for example, English and mathematics. Waiting lists for education and activity places were too long. While a wide range of enrichment opportunities was on offer, promotion and coordination was poor and participation consequently limited. Prisoners were generally positive about their time out of cell, and the regime was stable, but the lack of meaningful activities during the core day doubtless contributed to boredom and, for some, increased drug use. Preparation for release was reasonably good, with effective support for maintaining family ties and resettlement planning, but gaps in accredited offending behaviour programmes meant some prisoners were released without interventions to reduce risk. Leaders were regularly seen around the prison and were committed, with clear priorities. Progress had been made in staff retention and combatting absenteeism, and leaders constructively engaged with the inspection process.

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• NPM-uk-imb-safety1 Jan 2024

  4.1 Reception and induction The major development in reception this year has been the unprecedented increase in admissions, transfers out to category D (open prisons) and releases out of the prison. The churn in the prison population resulting from measures such as SDS40 (where certain prisoners serving ‘standard determinate sentences’ (SDS) became eligible to be released after serving 40% of their sentence instead of 50%) to cope with the capacity crisis across the estate is most obvious in the increased movement and workload in reception. This year: • admissions increased 27%, transfers out increased 23% and releases 41% • nearly all the increases in admissions came from category B prisons, notably bulk drafts in from the Kent, Surrey, Sussex region (KSS) • category C to category C movement usually for progression courses or family contact reasons remains at the low levels noted last year.2 Some men express alarm at arriving at a prison where they feel they will be under threat from known ‘non-associates’. The need to hurry men out of category B reception prisons in bulk transfers does not help. Staff have more work processing property using paper-based systems. But new arrivals who spoke with the Board generally reported being kindly and respectfully treated in reception. From to conversations with prisoners, the Board understands that first nights can be a shock. Most arrivals are housed on A wing in the main accommodation block lacking in- cell sanitation. This wing has [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-respect1 Jan 2024

  5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation All year, 35% of all the residents have been living in the old unrefurbished wings without a sink or toilet in their cell. They must rely on the night sanitation queueing system. The collapse of ISG in September hit Coldingley hard as ISG were the managing contractor for the refurbishment project to provide in-cell sanitation. Around 90 men are expected to be living without proper private sanitation or sinks in their cells until the final round of refurbishment, scheduled to start in late 2027. The completion date for other associated essential works in the project, such as site re- wiring, a heating ring main and fire safety work, has been pushed back to 2029.6 Last year this Board reported optimistically on the opening of refurbished B wing. The wing remains bright and in good decorative order, encouraging other wings to up their game in terms of appearance and cleanliness, but much of the Board’s reporting has been about the lessons to be learned: • inadequate ventilation, poor landing window design and air circulation led to difficult summer living conditions; with not enough sockets to allow the use of temporary landing fans, some men chose to sleep on concrete floors because of the heat • some tried to purchase their own fans but experienced long administrative delays after fans were withdrawn from the DHL canteen lists • by late autumn numerous heating and hot-water failures were emerging • opportunities to make [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-purposeful-activity1 Jan 2024

  Education Education is an important step on the journey to rehabilitation and resettlement. Coldingley’s momentum and its energetic leadership in education is to be praised. ‘They do this well’, commented one recent arrival, highlighting award ceremonies attended by the Governor as excellent study incentives. Some promising new courses, such as the Award in Education and Training, have started and the regular teaching of literacy and numeracy is prioritised. Although one new arrival described education as ‘a hidden gem’, engagement in Coldingley’s teaching offer is disappointing, with average daily attendances in the education block at best ranging between 40-60 men. In the past three months, 52% of the planned course capacity was being utilised.16 Education has the resources and capacity to help meet the Governor’s target of getting at least 50% of men off wings A/F, B, D and E and into productive activity during core hours. The educational providers complain of the abuse of movement slips for brief appointments elsewhere, or of men simply not turning up and contributing to a ‘loitering issue’ around the establishment. Having more men arriving with only a few weeks to serve also hits class attendances. These men have too little time to take advantage of the learning opportunities of a training prison. The numbers engaged in higher level education dropped this year. By June there were only 12 on Prison Education Trust distance learning level 3 or above courses and 18 [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-preparation-for-release1 Jan 2024

  Coldingley offender management unit (OMU) operates with a settled staff group. Their workload increased again with capacity pressures throughout the national prison estate. SDS40,18 several changes to home detention curfew (HDC -tagging) and parole eligibility dates required multiple and overlapping sentence reviews and recalculations. The OMU was under pressure to recategorise as many men as possible to category D to fill vacancies in the open estate. The unit achieved a new peak of 172 men transferring from Coldingley to category D prisons. Each year Coldingley receives significant numbers of men without offender assessment system (OASys, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners) and sentence plans. The OMU must do their best to plug this gap if the men are to progress. The acute capacity crisis in category B reception prisons has considerably worsened this problem. 18 SDS40 was introduced to tackle the ongoing overcrowding crisis in prisons. Certain prisoners serving ‘standard determinate sentences’ (SDS) became eligible to be released after serving 40% of their sentence instead of 50%. 28 On average three men arrive every week without an OASys. An OASys is an intrinsic part of the sentence plan to be completed within 10 weeks of sentencing. Yet the Board is now seeing men arrive at a resettlement prison within six weeks of being sentenced. With support from remote prison offender managers (POMs), the OMU has done well to complete the OASys assessments it has, but [...]

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• HMIP10 Jan 2022

  The prisoners at Coldingley, a category C training prison in Surrey, were spending up to seven hours a day unlocked; this was in contrast with other jails we had recently inspected, where prisoners were lucky if they got out of their cells for more than a couple of hours. Our visit came as the prison was recovering from a recent COVID-19 outbreak, but leaders had kept the regime open while successfully managing the risk for the 431 prisoners who were being held there. Levels of violence at Coldingley were around average for the category C estate and the prison generally had a calm and friendly atmosphere. A consistent regime was presided over by a strong cadre of dedicated and skilled prison officers, though the oversight of support for prisoners at risk of suicide or self- harm needed improvement. At times it seemed to inspectors that the atmosphere was a little too laid back and there a tolerance of some low-level behaviour that should have been addressed. It was disappointing to see from our survey how readily drugs were available in the prison and there needed to be a concerted effort from leaders to reduce the supply. Since I came into post in November 2020, I have rarely visited a jail about which prisoners spoke so positively. This was particularly impressive because the fabric of the prison in the older parts was poor, with cold, dark cells and shabby communal areas. A night sanitation system remained in place on A–D wings and waits to use the lavatories were so long that prisoners often had to revert to using a bucket in their cell and were unable to wash their hands. Inspectors were encouraged to hear that a much needed, extensive refurbishment plan was in place. Considering the time prisoners were unlocked, it was disappointing that the provision of education was so poor, with Ofsted colleagues awarding it their lowest rating. This was a huge missed opportunity to get prisoners onto productive leaning pathways that would help them to resettle when released. There was also a lack of work opportunities available for prisoners, which meant that some did not have enough to do during the day and were not able to get used to normal working habits. Prisoners were not being sufficiently incentivised or challenged to go to work or attend education and during this inspection, we found too many either in their cells watching daytime television or socialising on the wings during working hours. The effective and thoughtful governor knew his prison well and had well- developed plans in place to make improvements. As the disruption of the pandemic receded, he and his team had the opportunity to build on the excellent staff-prisoner relationships and to focus on making sure that all prisoners spend their time productively, either working or in education. There was also scope for building relationships with local employers, in a part of the country with a buoyant jobs market, to offer release on temporary licence for those prisoners who met the threshold. This would further prepare them for working life and incentivise good behaviour and attendance among the rest of the population. Coldingley was a well-run and decent prison, but with renovation of the buildings, the development of a comprehensive, challenging work and education offer, and the reduction in the supply of drugs there was scope for further improvements. The governor and his team should be ambitious in aiming to make this prison a model for other category C establishments in the country. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons February 2022

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