New Hall inspection report 2023
Summary
New Hall prison and young offender institution, located near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, can hold up to 381 women, although there were just 314 at the time of this inspection. A prison with many purposes, it holds women of all ages and differing risks: some are on remand or unsentenced, but a small number are classed as restricted status and considered among the most dangerous. New Hall has a fairly significant turnover of prisoners, although staff told us that many women were well known to them, returning frequently and repeatedly. This was our first inspection since 2019, and while we observed some deterioration in outcomes in rehabilitation and release planning and purposeful activity, this was from a high bar set in in 2019. The prison remained an overwhelmingly safe and respectful place, work to promote rehabilitation was still reasonably good and only in the quality of the daily regime was there more significant work to be done to return to previously high standards. The prison was very well led by a governor who knew her prison well and was able to motivate an engaged and caring staff group.