United Kingdom · North-East · Yorkshire
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UK Closed female 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
—
Region
North-East
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
At this inspection, we found that outcomes in our healthy prison tests of safety, — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Receptions have more than doubled in the past reporting year, from 807 to 1933. With the operating capacity remaining at 908, the number of receptions is now more than twice the prison population. Many prisoners arrive with very short sentences remaining (2-4 weeks in some cases). The high turnover of prisoners coupled with short sentences has a major impact on [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation 5.1.1 The national pressures on the prison estate have mandated for all available potential cell space to be identified. 17 potential extra prisoner spaces at HMP Wealstun were identified through conversion of existing wing laundries. Despite pressure, the Governor has obtained agreement that the showers on D wing are upgraded before 12 existing [...] Purposeful activity: 7.1.1 The Board have observed a considerable amount of work being undertaken with education and the library although classrooms have not always been busy. It is thought by the prison that outreach work in workshops and cells provided better learning results than long classroom sessions. New education contracts are due in the next reporting year – not this one as expected – and it is highly likely [...] Preparation for release: 7.3.1 It has been a challenging year for the offender management unit (OMU), with some staffing issues and the increase churn of prisoners, with some having as little as 14 days to serve. This means that staff do not have the time to build constructive relationships. Prisoners have complained that they were unable to contact their Prison Offender Manager or obtain up-to-date information. They [...]
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Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Wealstun, HMP Wealstun Church Causeway Thorp Arch Wetherby Yorkshire LS23 7AZ See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2 minute survey .. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
Wealstun is a category C training and resettlement prison in West Yorkshire.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons completed a full inspection of HMP Wealstun in October 2022 and a full inspection in October 2019; reports are available on the HMIP website.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 13. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 9 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation 5.1.1 The national pressures on the prison estate have mandated for all available potential cell space to be identified. 17 potential extra prisoner spaces at HMP Wealstun were identified through conversion of existing wing laundries. Despite pressure, the Governor has obtained agreement that the showers on D wing are upgraded before 12 existing single cells will become double cells. All of these will be double cells and the Board continues to be concerned about decreased decency when prisoners have to share cells. 5.1.2 The conversion of the existing wing laundries to new cells will necessitate the laundry service changing to a centralised operation. Prisoners have raised concerns that this may lead to loss or damage to property. However, the Board have been advised by the Governor that other prisons have implemented a similar scheme, and the feedback has been positive. However, this is an area that the Board will monitor closely. During the year, there have been reports of broken washing machines on wing, meaning prisoners were not able to wash their clothes frequently. 5.1.3 Decency checks are carried out by the senior management team and middle management team each week and this system covers all wings every six weeks. The findings seem variable, and the Board is concerned about the inconsistency across wings. 5.1.4 The netting covering some exercise yards came down under the weight of the snow during the winter. [...]
4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Receptions have more than doubled in the past reporting year, from 807 to 1933. With the operating capacity remaining at 908, the number of receptions is now more than twice the prison population. Many prisoners arrive with very short sentences remaining (2-4 weeks in some cases). The high turnover of prisoners coupled with short sentences has a major impact on the prison in terms of stability and operations. Receptions 2020 - 2025 2500 2000 r e 1500 b m u 1000 N 500 0 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Year 4.1.2 Historically, HMP Wealstun consisted of a mostly local population of mainly West Yorkshire prisoners with many being transferred from HMP Leeds. Security and safety concerns have required HMP Wealstun to take more prisoners from outside the region. HMP Holme House has re-roled as a reception prison, resulting in more prisoners from the northeast being transferred. Prisoners from outside the region find visits from relatives and friends difficult due to distance they need to travel and this can be unsettling. 4.1.3 The Board observed a very well-planned release of 55 prisoners under Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) on 10 September 2024, where certain prisoners are released after 40% of their sentence. Although there were no receptions planned for 10 September, 18 admissions were expected on each of the next three days. There was a whole prison plan in releasing the prisoners and it started at 7am and all prisoners were [...]
7.1.1 The Board have observed a considerable amount of work being undertaken with education and the library although classrooms have not always been busy. It is thought by the prison that outreach work in workshops and cells provided better learning results than long classroom sessions. New education contracts are due in the next reporting year – not this one as expected – and it is highly likely that there will be cuts to the budget. The same level of support might no longer be possible in the same form which will be disappointing. 7.1.2 There has been an emphasis throughout the prison on literacy skills with posters stressing the importance of being able to read. The Shannon Trust trained over 50 mentors between April 2024 and March 2025. There were 15 learners in numeracy and 57 in reading. The Board were concerned that mentors missed out on association as the work should take place during the SOWA sessions. Letters of appreciation adorn the noticeboard in the education block, including: “I set myself to read 10 pages a day but have done 70 in five days”, “I now have the ability to do things (writing and reading) by myself”. “It makes the job worthwhile”, said a member of staff to a member of the Board in relation to the programme. 7.1.3 Prisoners on the basic level of IPF appreciate the books in the library most of all as they do not have access to televisions. There are some excellent escorts who encourage visits to the libraries. However, the Board are aware that not [...]
7.3.1 It has been a challenging year for the offender management unit (OMU), with some staffing issues and the increase churn of prisoners, with some having as little as 14 days to serve. This means that staff do not have the time to build constructive relationships. Prisoners have complained that they were unable to contact their Prison Offender Manager or obtain up-to-date information. They also complained that they were unable to contact their Community Offender Manager by phone as they were not free calls but were told that there were plenty of video appointments available. 7.3.2 Although it was acknowledged that the end of custody supervised licence and theSDS40 scheme would be challenging, it was a very busy time, with incentivised overtime offered to staff to manage the workload. Probation staff have six weeks to plan for the releases under tranche one and then a 'minimum of six weeks' to prepare tranche two prisoners for release. 7.3.3 Caseworkers in the OMU have a caseload of about 45-51 cases each. The Board saw two caseworkers having to each deal with up to 14 releases over four weeks. The work relating to each release was enormous, assessments, licences, communications with outside agencies for example. If the OMU is to continue under such pressure, then there will need to be changes to ensure prisoners are properly prepared for release and the prison is aware of this. 7.3.4 At the end of the reporting year, there were 23 prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public [...]
Wealstun is a category C training and resettlement prison in West Yorkshire. Holding more than 800 convicted adult men, the establishment was founded 27 years ago following the amalgamation of two former prisons. Developments since then have resulted in an extensive, mixed campus of 10 accommodation units, ranging from those built in the 1960s to more modern blocks, set within clean and well-maintained grounds. At this inspection, we found that outcomes in our healthy prison tests of safety,
Full inspection of HMP Wealstun (2019-10-15)
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Wealstun. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-wealstun
"HMP Wealstun." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-wealstun.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-wealstun,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Wealstun},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-wealstun},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}