United Kingdom · Wigston
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UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
HMP Fosse Way is a Category C prison in Leicestershire, England, UK. It has a planned capacity of 1,930 male inmates and cost £286 million to construct. It is operated by Serco, under a ten-year contract, and received its first prisoners on Monday 29 May 2023.
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Capacity
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Current population
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Occupancy
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Year opened
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Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 7 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
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Region
Wigston
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
very well. We found outcomes against three of our healthy prison tests – — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: There were two main areas of concern for the Board in this year’s review:- a) Vulnerability of prisoners convicted of sexual offences (PCoSOs) Although actual violence against prisoners convicted of sexual offences was no greater than in the general prison population, the IMB received complaints and observed verbal threats being made to PCoSOs The prison carried out a survey of the PCoSOs and [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food As Fosse Way has only been open for two years, the accommodation is modern, with most prisoners living in single cells with their own shower (for this reporting year there were 84 double occupancy cells). Each has in-cell CMS computers with which prisoners can place orders for food; book doctor/dentist appointments; order canteen; receive messages/instructions [...] Purposeful activity: Fosse Way operates as a category C rehabilitation prison, its primary mission to equip prisoners with education, training, and employment skills for successful reintegration into society. The institution aims to enable prisoners to acquire new abilities and qualifications, opening opportunities in essential industries upon their release. Education is a cornerstone of purposeful activity at Fosse [...] Preparation for release: OASys (the offender assessment system, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners) – there is a backlog of prisoners arriving at Fosse Way without an up-to- date OASys, which impacts negatively on sentence planning and progression. Offender management unit (OMU) – a lack of POMs (prison offender managers) has meant that staff to prisoner ration is circa 1 to 120 versus a target of circa 1 to [...]
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resettlement prison and has space for more than 1,700 adult men. The prison comprises a campus of seven house blocks, with additional work which will
HM Inspectorate of Prisons carried out a full inspection of HMP Fosse Way in March 2025.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 18. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 14 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
One of the UK’s newest prisons, HMP Fosse Way is built on the site of the former Glen Parva jail near Leicester. It opened in May 2023 as a category C resettlement prison and has space for more than 1,700 adult men. The prison comprises a campus of seven house blocks, with additional work which will extend it further already nearing completion. The prison is operated by the private contractor Serco. This was our first inspection of Fosse Way, and it is pleasing to report that the process of opening and commissioning the new prison seems to have gone very well. We found outcomes against three of our healthy prison tests –
There were two main areas of concern for the Board in this year’s review:- a) Vulnerability of prisoners convicted of sexual offences (PCoSOs) Although actual violence against prisoners convicted of sexual offences was no greater than in the general prison population, the IMB received complaints and observed verbal threats being made to PCoSOs The prison carried out a survey of the PCoSOs and circa 420 of the 600 in Fosse Way confirmed they would like to be segregated due to not feeling safe mixed with the general prison population. Towards the end of this year’s reporting period, houseblocks E, F and G were turned over to integrating VPs, including PCoSOs, although they are not separated in work or education. 4.1 Reception and induction Due to the high number of arrivals and releases (up to 200 per week) the pressure on a small reception for the size of Fosse Way is high. Despite this, reception appears to function efficiently and well. New arrivals complete an initial assessment of vulnerability and risk, searching procedures were proportionate and prisoners are offered an emergency canteen allowance. All prisoners are located to an induction wing for their first week. When prisoner property has arrived it is, in the main, dealt with and relocated to the prisoners. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody There have been ten deaths in this reporting year. One was apparently self-inflicted, one apparent homicide, six were apparently from natural causes and two were [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food As Fosse Way has only been open for two years, the accommodation is modern, with most prisoners living in single cells with their own shower (for this reporting year there were 84 double occupancy cells). Each has in-cell CMS computers with which prisoners can place orders for food; book doctor/dentist appointments; order canteen; receive messages/instructions from various prison departments. However, as commented on in the previous report, the fixtures and fittings in the cells are in the main made from MDF wood and are getting easily damaged and/or broken. In the Board’s view, this trend will only continue. A concern for the IMB is the catering operation at houseblock level. In our opinion the health, safety and hygiene and food safety on individual wings vary with no standard procedures in place. During the Board’s observations, some kitchens were locked when not in use, some were not; some had the required health and safety notices displayed, some did not. Some servers had white coats, rubber gloves on when serving food and some did not. The standards of cleanliness of the kitchens, the equipment and utensils were also variable from good to very poor. In addition, the rooms adjacent to each kitchen, which have microwaves, fridges, grills etc, almost without exception, leave much to be desired in respect of equipment, standards of cleanliness and care. Most of the grills are broken. Also, the smoke detectors were almost always observed to [...]
Fosse Way operates as a category C rehabilitation prison, its primary mission to equip prisoners with education, training, and employment skills for successful reintegration into society. The institution aims to enable prisoners to acquire new abilities and qualifications, opening opportunities in essential industries upon their release. Education is a cornerstone of purposeful activity at Fosse Way, with Milton Keynes College (MKC) responsible for delivering all academic instruction. Out of the nine partners providing both academic and vocational courses, MKC receives over 90% of Serco's education funding. The curriculum includes both tier 1 courses (focused on progressive education and work) and tier 2 courses (offering therapeutic and enrichment experiences), all of which lead to either credited or non-credited qualifications upon completion. Although Serco’s original bid to HMPPS did not include a head of education, skills and work, this strategic role was later recognised as essential and has been funded by Serco independently. Courses at Fosse Way are tailored to meet both the inmates' needs and the employment demands of regional labour markets: • West Midlands – 50% • East Midlands – 30% • Rest of Country – 20% To ensure the curriculum remains relevant and diverse, the prison conducts a strategic needs analysis twice a year, with the most recent undertaken in February 2025 for the 2024-2025 reporting period. All prisoners undertake an initial education assessment at [...]
OASys (the offender assessment system, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners) – there is a backlog of prisoners arriving at Fosse Way without an up-to- date OASys, which impacts negatively on sentence planning and progression. Offender management unit (OMU) – a lack of POMs (prison offender managers) has meant that staff to prisoner ration is circa 1 to 120 versus a target of circa 1 to 65. In addition, there are five vacancies for qualified probation officers. With the early release schemes, the pressure on OMU resources has been intense and contributed to the back-log of OASys. Imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners are still a major concern due to the numbers post tariff still awaiting re-sentencing Prisoners are encouraged, by staff, to keep in touch with family and friends and prisoners can book visits through their in-cell laptops. The prison regularly contacts prisoners who have not had a recent visit, to offer support, including the use of a 19 pen-pal service and the prison’s official visitors scheme. The visits regime is fully utilised and received positively by prisoners. The visitor facilities are excellent from the reception through to the actual visits hall, with good video conference facilities, which are well utilised. POPs (partners of prisoners) are located in the reception area and with reception staff, deal with the initial meet and greet, which, in our view, makes visitors feels welcome and supported, something other establishments [...]
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Fosse Way. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-fosse-way
"HMP Fosse Way." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-fosse-way.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-fosse-way,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Fosse Way},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-fosse-way},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}