Reception prisons
Local prisons that serve the courts. They receive people on remand and newly sentenced, and hold many short-sentence prisoners, so turnover is high and the population is the most changeable.
- Top quarter
- Upper middle
- Lower middle
- Bottom quarter
| Prison | Band | Likely position (of 31) | Pillars | Official HMPPS rating | Operator | HMIP inspected | Higher or lower than expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | Top quarter | 1st–4th | Of concern · 65% | Public | Jan 2024 | – | |
| Swansea | Top quarter | 1st–3rd | Good · 66% | Public | Feb 2023 | – | |
| Doncaster | Top quarter | 1st–6th | Good · 74% | Contracted | Sep 2025 | – | |
| Holme House | Top quarter | 1st–13th | Good · 69% | Public | Mar 2023 | – | |
| Exeter | Top quarter | 4th–8th | Good · 60% | Public | Nov 2025 | – | |
| Altcourse | Top quarter | 3rd–11th | Good · 63% | Contracted | Jul 2025 | – | |
| Lincoln | Top quarter | 3rd–9th | Good · 61% | Public | Apr 2025 | – | |
| Liverpool | Top quarter | 4th–18th | Good · 60% | Public | Aug 2025 | – | |
| Preston | Upper middle | 6th–12th | Good · 61% | Public | Mar 2023 | – | |
| Hull | Upper middle | 7th–14th | Good · 58% | Public | Jun 2024 | – | |
| Norwich | Upper middle | 8th–15th | Good · 61% | Public | Jan 2026 | – | |
| Forest Bank | Upper middle | 9th–20th | Good · 62% | Contracted | Dec 2024 | – | |
| Elmley | Upper middle | 9th–21st | Good · 65% | Public | Feb 2025 | – | |
| Bristol | Lower middle | 13th–23rd | Of concern · 52% | Public | Jul 2023 | – | |
| Lewes | Upper middle | 10th–20th | Good · 61% | Public | Jun 2025 | – | |
| Chelmsford | Lower middle | 11th–22nd | Good · 59% | Public | Jan 2024 | – | |
| Hewell | Upper middle | 12th–21st | Of concern · 56% | Public | Jun 2025 | – | |
| Durham | Upper middle | 12th–22nd | Good · 61% | Public | Apr 2024 | – | |
| Thameside | Lower middle | 7th–28th | Of concern · 55% | Contracted | Feb 2025 | – | |
| Belmarsh | Lower middle | 12th–24th | Good · 64% | Public | Jun 2024 | – | |
| Leicester | Lower middle | 16th–28th | Of concern · 56% | Public | Aug 2025 | – | |
| Birmingham | Bottom quarter | 20th–28th | Serious concern · 52% | Public | Oct 2025 | – | |
| Peterborough Male | Lower middle | 17th–26th | Of concern · 57% | Contracted | Jan 2024 | combined reporting unit | |
| Nottingham | Lower middle | 16th–29th | Serious concern · 48% | Public | May 2024 | – | |
| Winchester | Bottom quarter | 16th–30th | Serious concern · 48% | Public | Feb 2026 | – | |
| Bullingdon | Bottom quarter | 20th–28th | Of concern · 57% | Public | Jul 2025 | – | |
| Wormwood Scrubs | Lower middle | 17th–30th | Serious concern · 43% | Public | Jun 2025 | – | |
| Bedford | Bottom quarter | 24th–30th | Serious concern · 48% | Public | Oct 2023 | assaults on staff higher than expected | |
| Pentonville | Bottom quarter | 25th–30th | Serious concern · 44% | Public | Jun 2025 | – | |
| Leeds | Bottom quarter | 22nd–31st | Of concern · 53% | Public | Jul 2025 | – | |
| Wandsworth | Bottom quarter | 27th–31st | Serious concern · 44% | Public | Apr 2024 | – |
Positions in the middle of a group are sensitive to weighting and to chance, so the band is the more reliable guide than the position. The bar shows the likely range (5th to 95th percentile over 1,000 re-weightings and measurement uncertainty) and the tick marks the median. The four squares show the pillars in order: Safety, Decency, Regime, Resettlement.
The official HMPPS rating is shown for context. It is not an input to these bands. HMIP inspection dates differ between prisons: a grade can be several years old. A flag is a prompt to look, not a finding of fault. Read the methodology.