Prison Rankings

← Category C prisons

Wealstun

Category C prisons · HMPPS functional group: Category C Trainer/Resettlement · Public sector · North East

HMP Wealstun is a public sector prison in the Category C group. It sits in the upper middle of 50 similar prisons, with a likely position of 9th to 29th. Its official HMPPS rating is "Good". Based on official data to March 2026.

At a glance

Band among 50 category c prisonsUpper middle
Likely position 9th to 29th of 50
Median 18th. The range is the 5th to 95th percentile over 1,000 re-weightings and measurement uncertainty.
PillarsSafety Lower middle Decency Upper middle Regime Lower middle Resettlement Top quarter
Official HMPPS rating (context)Good, score 59.8%
Not an input to our bands.

The HMIP grades on this page come from an inspection in Oct 2022. They may not reflect the prison today.

The measures behind the bands

Position is where the prison sits among its 50 peers on that measure alone (lower incident rates are better; higher grades and outcomes are better). For incident outcomes the position is after adjusting for who the prison holds.

Fourteen measures in four pillars, each pillar weighted equally.
MeasureThis prisonGroup median Position in groupData from
Safety pillar position: Lower middle
Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults357 per 1,000 prisoners
expected 240
175Bottom quarterApr 2025 to Mar 2026
Assaults on staff70.8 per 1,000 prisoners
expected 93.8
68.5Upper middleApr 2025 to Mar 2026
Self-harm incidents688 per 1,000 prisoners
expected 668
530Lower middleApr 2025 to Mar 2026
HMIP healthy prison test: safety3 (reasonably good)3.0Upper middleInspected Oct 2022
Prisoner survey: safety and security33.0Upper middleSurvey from Nov 2022
Decency pillar position: Upper middle
HMIP healthy prison test: respect3 (reasonably good)3.0Upper middleInspected Oct 2022
Prisoner survey: respect33.0Lower middleSurvey from Nov 2022
Regime pillar position: Lower middle
HMIP healthy prison test: purposeful activity2 (not sufficiently good)2.0Upper middleInspected Oct 2022
Prisoner survey: purposeful activity33.0Lower middleSurvey from Nov 2022
Prisoners in at least half-time purposeful activity60%66%Lower middle2025/26
Resettlement pillar position: Top quarter
Housed on the first night after release89%92%Bottom quarter2025/26
In employment six weeks after release31%15%Top quarter2025/26
In employment six months after release50%29%Top quarter2025/26
HMIP healthy prison test: preparation for release3 (reasonably good)3.0Upper middleInspected Oct 2022

Incidents compared with what we would expect

Rates are incidents per 1,000 prisoners over April 2025 to March 2026. The expectation is the average of a statistical model of who the prison holds (sentence length, remand, recalls, age, turnover, crowding) and the average of its HMPPS comparator prisons. Neither includes the prison's own result.

OutcomeActualModel expects Similar prisonsExpected (used)Actual ÷ expected Reading
Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults3573001932401.48×Higher than expected, but within what chance and recording differences could produce
Assaults on staff70.810782.493.80.76×Lower than expected, but within what chance and recording differences could produce
Self-harm incidents6888265406681.03×About as expected

A flag appears only when the result is outside statistical limits and in the same direction under the model, the comparators and their average. It is a prompt to look, not a finding of fault. Counts of one or two incidents are suppressed in the source and estimated here.

Similar prisons

HMPPS names these prisons as the closest comparators, matching on age, sentence length, turnover, sex-offender share, complexity, building age and setting. Rates are per 1,000 prisoners; reoffending is the share of people released in April 2023 to March 2024 who reoffended within a year.

PrisonPrisoner assaultsStaff assaults Self-harmReoffendingOfficial rating
Wealstun (this prison)35770.868842%Good
Wayland20789.159135%Of concern
Ranby27710655745%Of concern
Lindholme32214467619%Good
Mount14262.324429%Good
Stocken13074.249222%Good
Humber26469.690642%Good
Cookham Wood67.467.4483–Good
Featherstone13645.736933%Good
Average of similar prisons19382.454032%

Who the prison holds

These describe the population, not the prison's performance. They are what the expectations above adjust for. Averages over the four quarter-ends of 2025/26.

Share of populationThis prison Group median
Average population890724
On remand (untried or convicted, unsentenced)0%0%
Sentence under 12 months7%2%
Sentence 12 months to under 4 years33%22%
Sentence 4 years or more (determinate)34%48%
Life or IPP sentence1%5%
Recalled to custody24%18%
Aged under 259%9%
Aged 50 or over10%15%
Releases in the year, per prisoner held1.200.63
Prisoners held in crowded accommodation13%13%

Remand is decided by courts and recall by probation and the Parole Board. They are context here, not something a prison controls.

Also shown, not scored

Staff sickness and resignations

Sickness: 10.0 days per full-time employee (HMPPS target 9; median for public prisons in its group 10.8).
Resignation rate: 6.1%.

Position among public-sector prisons in its group: sickness lower middle, resignations upper middle. Related to quality in our tests, but the direction of cause is unclear, so it is not scored.

Reoffending after release

41.5% of 839 people released in April 2023 to March 2024 reoffended within a year. Expected given who is released and the mix of the prison and its comparators: 37.1%. Result: about as expected.

The Ministry of Justice says rates by releasing prison should not be used to assess prisons: they do not control for sentence or offender characteristics, and the prison of release may not be where the sentence was mainly served. About two years old.

Disorder incidents and finds

Per 1,000 prisoners, 2025/26This prisonGroup median
Incidents at height87.650.0
Barricades30.319.2
Drug finds445286
Weapon finds97.795.1
Mobile phone finds84.2100.0

Not scored. We cannot separate real disorder from differences in how incidents are recorded, and more finds can mean better searching rather than more contraband. Also recorded: 4 releases in error; 1 active concerted indiscipline incident; 1 passive concerted indiscipline incident.

Healthcare (Care Quality Commission)

Provider: Practice Plus Group Health and Rehabilitation Services Limited; Time for Teeth Limited.
Latest compliance judgement: no compliance judgement published.

The CQC does not give prison healthcare a graded rating, so this is context only.

How current is this?

HMIP gradesInspected Oct 2022
Prisoner survey gradesSurvey from Nov 2022
Incident rates and workforceApril 2025 to March 2026
Resettlement outcomes2025/26 performance year
ReoffendingPeople released April 2023 to March 2024, followed for a year plus a six-month wait for court outcomes
Population mixQuarter-ends June 2025 to March 2026

Sources: data downloads and methodology. Think a figure is wrong? Tell us.