Woodhill urgent notification 2026
Report for Woodhill Prison
Summary
Urgent Notification for HMP Woodhill issued 17 March 2026. Inspection debriefing paper HMP Woodhill debrief paper ( PDF, 275 KB ) ( PDF, 275 KB ) HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS 3rd floor 10 South Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 4PU Tel: 020 3334 0353 E-mail: [email protected] HM Chief Inspector of Prisons CHARLIE TAYLOR Date: 17 March 2026 Deputy Prime Minister Ministry of Justice 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ Dear Deputy Prime Minister, Urgent Notification: HMP Woodhill In accordance with the Protocol between HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Ministry of Justice dated October 2019, I am writing to you to invoke the Urgent Notification process following our unannounced inspection of HMP Woodhill that took place between 2nd and 12th March 2026. Our protocol sets out that this letter will be placed in the public domain, and that the Secretary of State commits to respond publicly within 28 days. This is the sixth time we have undertaken a full inspection of Woodhill since 2014 and, as the table below shows, there is a worrying pattern of outcomes assessed as either poor or not sufficiently good. Of particular concern are the continued poor outcomes in safety and purposeful activity observed since 2018, and the deterioration in outcomes in our preparation for release test evidenced at this inspection. This is the second UN for Woodhill which, despite the substantial support it has received, has not only failed to improve but worsened since our 2023 inspection.