United Kingdom · North-West · Lancaster
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UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
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
North-West
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
Overall, this was an encouraging inspection. Although outcomes in purposeful — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Overall, the Board remains very positive about the reception service and induction programme for new prisoners to the prison: they are well organised and efficient. It has been pleasing to learn that prisoners can start education/employment whilst on the induction wing. During the year, Coniston 2 became the first-night/ induction wing. 4.1.2 While the Prison [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 Lancaster Farms houses approximately 560 men, within six residential units (Coniston, Derwent, Windermere and Buttermere), a small unit for men with neurodiverse needs and characteristics (Grizedale) and a care and separation unit (CSU), where men are segregated (Ullswater). 5.1.2 At slightly more than 30 years old, the units remain in reasonable condition, [...] Purposeful activity: 7.1 1 As with last year, a variety of classes has been run throughout the year, including academic subjects such maths and Englis and business IT. Art continues to be popular, and the prison was proud to receive the Koestler Arts Platinum award 2024. There are also courses in mentoring, food safety and industrial cleaning. Again, the providers were found to be proud of the courses they offer and [...] Preparation for release: 7.3 1 The purpose of offender management is to safeguard the men released and reduce re-offending, which then safeguards the public. 7.3 2 The early release scheme, requested by the Government, has created challenges, both in terms of securing accommodation and employment but also in terms of the implementation (given that the timescale was somewhat brief). Despite this, at Lancaster Farms, every [...]
Visits booked online via the GOV.UK Prison Visits Booking service. Photo ID required. Visit frequency varies by the inmate's IEP level.
In keeping with the very reasonable built environment, the grounds are also
category C resettlement prison, which has capacity for 560 adult men in a
HM Inspectorate of Prisons carried out a full inspection of HMP Lancaster Farms in August 2022; the published report is available on the HMIP website.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 23. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 19 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 Lancaster Farms houses approximately 560 men, within six residential units (Coniston, Derwent, Windermere and Buttermere), a small unit for men with neurodiverse needs and characteristics (Grizedale) and a care and separation unit (CSU), where men are segregated (Ullswater). 5.1.2 At slightly more than 30 years old, the units remain in reasonable condition, but some areas are beginning to look slightly tired. Recognising this, the prison has begun a refurbishment programme of cells and living areas, starting with Windermere 2. When this is completed, the next location will be Derwent 1, and it is hoped this will continue around each wing until it is fully complete. Men on each wing have access to a small amount of gym equipment on each wing, which is used widely, alongside the recreational equipment (pool tables, etc), which was already there. 5.1.3 Most of the prison population occupies single cells, although there is a proportion of men sharing double cells. There are 71 double cells at present. Although this is a response to population pressures, it is unfortunate, as the cells do not offer a satisfactory amount of living space for two men, in the Board’s view. It can also cause problems with privacy, particularly around the use of the in-cell toilet and screens, or when men of different faiths fail to respect one another’s beliefs. Each residential unit has a central communal area and a food servery. The men can congregate socially [...]
7.3 1 The purpose of offender management is to safeguard the men released and reduce re-offending, which then safeguards the public. 7.3 2 The early release scheme, requested by the Government, has created challenges, both in terms of securing accommodation and employment but also in terms of the implementation (given that the timescale was somewhat brief). Despite this, at Lancaster Farms, every prisoner’s release into the community is managed from a public protection and risk management point of view. 7.3 3 Education, skills and work are available and used. The men can move forward on release within roles available in partner organisations, particularly in catering and hospitality. 7.3 4 The CrossFit programme has continued and is hugely popular. It continues to provide valuable gymnasium experience and is extremely valuable in ensuring that those completing a prison sentence are less likely to return to their old system of re- offending. 7.4 1 A reminder from last year that HMP Lancaster Farms ‘is committed to providing a rehabilitative environment for everyone that lives in our establishment. We aim to be a fair and equitable place for all prisoners in our care, our staff and anyone else that may visit the establishment’. The prison is also committed ‘to ensuring family relationships are a priority… in the care of our prisoners and listen to their views and concerns enabling them to contribute to future planning’. 7.4 2 Family contact is hugely important. Families miss [...]
4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Overall, the Board remains very positive about the reception service and induction programme for new prisoners to the prison: they are well organised and efficient. It has been pleasing to learn that prisoners can start education/employment whilst on the induction wing. During the year, Coniston 2 became the first-night/ induction wing. 4.1.2 While the Prison Service claims to restrict the number of prisoners moving across its estate on a Friday afternoon, there have been instances of late arrivals on Fridays during the reporting year (especially those travelling from Greater Manchester or Merseyside prisons). This has an impact on both staff and prisoners, including the induction process, medication transfers and food availability. 4.1.3 Transfers into Lancaster Farms sometimes identify problems of canteen/money transferring from previous prisons and of different procedures for ordering and receiving clothing. This problem appears greater in transfers from private prisons. Such difficulties can contribute to prisoners subsequently finding themselves in debt. 4.2 Suicide, self-harm, deaths in custody 4.2.1 At HMP Lancaster Farms, there have been 357 incidents of self-harm, in which cutting accounted for 66%, followed by hanging, self-strangulation, ingestion (which includes overdoses and swallowing of batteries, cleaning products, vape caps) and head banging. Of these 357 incidents, 116 individuals were responsible. There were 49 ‘dual [...]
7.1 1 As with last year, a variety of classes has been run throughout the year, including academic subjects such maths and Englis and business IT. Art continues to be popular, and the prison was proud to receive the Koestler Arts Platinum award 2024. There are also courses in mentoring, food safety and industrial cleaning. Again, the providers were found to be proud of the courses they offer and the men respectful of subjects and staff. 7.1.2 The library continues to be a hub of industry and innovation. Building on the Telling Stories Project of last year, writers who are ex-prisoners have been invited to share their writing and encourage the men to explore their own creative thoughts. Quick reads and audibles are regularly used and reading is supported by external bodies such as the Shannon Trust. Still popular through the library are Storybook Dads, which helps parents stay connected to their family by recording stories on audio CDs for their children to listen to at home. Similarly, Bedtime Stories is popular: a book is loaned to be read over their own phone by the prisoner to their child. There has been an issue over meeting the hours required to run the library and the different projects. This is due to more than one factor but includes a staff member being granted study time. It is hoped that this may be resolved soon. 7.1.3 Evening classes are operating. They continue to be wing based and are advertised on wing noticeboards. Classes are published daily in the morning [...]
Built just outside the city of Lancaster in 1993, HMP Lancaster Farms has fulfilled several functions in its comparatively short history, and now serves as a category C resettlement prison, which has capacity for 560 adult men in a modern and reasonably well-appointed prison campus with six residential units. In keeping with the very reasonable built environment, the grounds are also open and very well maintained, something which boosts prisoners’ sense of well-being. Overall, this was an encouraging inspection. Although outcomes in purposeful activity needed to improve radically, our findings showed that a score of ‘reasonably good’ had been sustained in our two of our healthy prison tests,
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Lancaster Farms. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-lancaster-farms
"HMP Lancaster Farms." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-lancaster-farms.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-lancaster-farms,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Lancaster Farms},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-lancaster-farms},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}