WPIC's second visit to Wandsworth Prison
- leanlamb0
- Aug 11, 2025
- 11 min read
The Governor of Wandsworth Prison, Andy Davy (AD), invited WPIC for a second visit to Wandsworth Prison on 22 July, following our first visit in February 2025. This was the first time that Liz Bridge, former chaplain, and one of the founders of WPIC, had seen the inside of the prison since she was excluded in 2023. Her overall impression, a year and a half later, was that the prison is cleaner and that there is a more positive atmosphere than when she was last there.
We toured the prison in two groups and AD had arranged for us to visit areas we had asked to see. After the tour we had an hour and a half meeting with AD. He said that he walked the wings for about an hour and a half each week.
The first part of this post sets out our overall impressions and is followed by more detail on what we saw and what we were told.
Improvements
· The improved cleanliness we saw on our last visit seems to be embedded
· Generally, there were no unpleasant smells although there were still occasional whiffs of cannabis
· A positive atmosphere – most prisoners seemed relaxed and we heard very few complaints
· The new Leavers Lounge – we hope that funding for this unit will continue as it is doing a good job for those leaving prison, including the unsentenced
· More information has been translated into other languages on kiosks and in the health centre and there are more foreign language books in the library
· Addison in-patient cells have been refurbished
· Improvements to some showers
· Reduction in drones carrying drugs, although this remains a major concern
· New health centre is now open
· Although levels of violence have gone up in recent months they are still below those of comparable prisons. The number of prisoners who self-harm has gone down.
· Full-time well-being lead has been recruited to support staff
Promising signs
· New cook is committed to improving the quality of the food. There will be a new nutrition framework for all prisons next year
· Further improvements due to take place in Trinity wings, including the new Scandi-style wing
· Improvements in procedures to ensure that all prisoners are monitored regularly and information is updated on NOMIS (the prison information system)
· Commitment, and funding, to set up a new neuro-diverse area
· Additional workshop and classroom space next year
· Later this year, Wandsworth will lose some of its role in servicing local courts and will only service Westminster. This should help reduce the churn of prisoners, but may increase the numbers of foreign nationals.
Persistent Problems
· Due to staff absences (eg high sick leave), the regime is currently restricted with many prisoners out of cell for only 2-3 hours a day.
· ACCTs are now spot checked using CCTV but in 2 out of 5 cases the entries on the ACCT forms of interactions were either missing or did not reflect what had really happened
· Only a small proportion of prisoners (c.10%) have access to education, training or work
· Limited opportunities to use the library (c 40 men per week) because of shortages of staff to escort men there
· Increase in availability of spice (which is particularly worrying) and hooch
· It will be several years before major improvements to Heathfield wings which house the majority of prisoners in Wandsworth.
What next?
The next full HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) inspection of Wandsworth Prison will be 12-18 months after the Interim Review of Progress which took place in March 2025. The prison will have 6 months' notice. A Managing Quality of Prisoner Life survey due to take place later this year will report to HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in September. We will ask to see a copy and also copies of previous surveys.
Time out of cell
AD said it had been difficult to meet the published regime over the previous four weeks because of summer leave and an increase in sick leave over the very hot weather. This meant that some prisoners had only 2-3 hours out of cell each day and less at weekends. Not everyone was affected in the week as prisoners with jobs still go out. The regime each day was clearly communicated and there had been no increase in incidents of violence as a result. The prison is now using free flow so that prisoners are unlocked for a single period of time and able to move between activities which, for example, reduces queues at the kiosks.
Staffing
Staffing shortages are behind many of the continuing problems in Wandsworth. AD told us there are currently 315 officers but the allowance for those “non-effective” (sick leave or training) is not sufficient because of the still higher than average absence rates. 47 were on sick leave the day we visited. Adjusting the non-effective rate for sick leave would have a considerable impact on what could be done at the prison. In addition, a number of staff, currently 25, were on restricted duties.
There is now a full time well-being lead to support staff. Most SOs (Supervising Officers) are now substantive, rather than being on temporary promotion, which is an improvement. AD admitted there are still pockets of poorer quality staff and he still has no control over recruitment.
Staff training
There will be a new Enable training programme in the autumn which will be covered by other staff working extra overtime (funded centrally rather than from Wandsworth’s budget).
Library
Only around 40 prisoners per week are able to visit the library because of a shortage of officers allocated to bring men to the library. On B wing men have to choose between exercise or visiting the library. Men are able to request books, although not yet via the kiosk, and there are a few book trolleys. The stock of foreign language books in the library is improving. AD agreed that not enough men are able to access the library as a result of the currently restricted regime. He said he was considering putting a library on Heathfield.
Education and training
We saw a training session for web design which provided a high level of training and qualifications but was attended by only 6 men, although there was space for 12. There was unused classroom space next door. The repair workshop gives men general skills and carries out a range of repair work around the prison but despite having space for 6 men there are currently only 2 taking part. In general, only around 150 men are undertaking work or training each day, which is around 10%. An experienced governor told us that 30 years ago, two thirds of men in Wandsworth would have had some work every day.
AD told us there will be a new education contract in October but there is a national reduction in funds for education. He explained the barriers to more men being able to access activities:
· Lack of suitable space. A new workshop complex will be built next year with three new workshops and classrooms
· The high churn of men in Wandsworth makes it difficult to organise longer term training. Wandsworth is trying to keep men on longer sentences.
· Because the regime is currently sporadic, men will sometimes prefer to use their time out of cell to shower.
· There have also been restrictions on parties working in the grounds following the escape in 2023. AD has asked HMPPS senior management to relax this.
Kiosk
We asked to see a kiosk in operation as we had been told they could be difficult to use. Kiosks are the terminals available on the wings which enable men to book visits, parcel deliveries, education, visits to the library, canteen etc. While information is available in other languages, you have to press another button on a particular screen to get it translated. This did seem to work. The availability of functions and applications on kiosk is individual to each prisoner and reflects their status and level of enhancement. The detail of the applications which were previously all in English has been translated into a few other languages and manually upgraded.
Kitchen and food
The cook has been at Wandsworth about a year and seems committed to improving the quality of food and has commissioned a survey amongst prisoners. There will be a new nutrition framework next year which will apply to all prisons, although it will be tight to provide on the current budget. Around 30 of the 40 people working in the kitchen are prisoners and the cook is improving their training so that they can receive an NVQ. The cook works hard to ensure that everyone receives equal portions.
We asked why Ramadan boxes were stopped. AD said they weren’t stopped and they just ran out of supplies as there were more Muslims than expected.
The selection of fruit and vegetables available through canteen (the additional provisions prisoners can order to be delivered to them) is very limited and, we have been told, frequently poor quality.
Health centre
We saw the new health centre after the end of the morning clinics. About 40 men had been seen that morning, although 60 were booked in. The facilities were bright and clean and there was material available in several languages. However dentistry is provided in another part of the prison, requiring extra officers to escort men. Mental health support is frequently provided on the wings.
We asked about the access for health care staff to the prison’s NOMIS system as some of the inquests we have attended have exposed a problem that health staff have not had access to all the information about a prisoner provided on the NOMIS system. AD confirmed that one third of staff still do not have access to NOMIS.
We saw the in patient cells in Addison which have recently been refurbished. They looked much better and had new toilets and sinks.
The prison has secured funding for a new neuro-diverse area with cells for around 15 men.
ACCTs (assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork)
ACCTs are the system used to support prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm. We have observed through inquests that there have been failures to carry out the actions detailed in ACCTs training and guidance, such as poor quality observations and a few officers have even falsified observation records. AD told us there are currently 50 ACCTs and this high number impacts the ability to provide appropriate support to the standard required by the HMPPS rules. Despite this high number, incidents of self-harm are continuing to reduce month on month.
Following advice from Adrian Usher, the Prisons Ombudsman, the prison now uses CCTV to monitor ACCT observations. 10% of ACCTs are checked weekly using CCTV. For 2 out of 5 ACCTs, the evidence of CCTV did not match what was recorded on the ACCT forms. One member of staff has been sacked for falsifying information on an ACCT. The Head of Safer Custody has introduced a new system so that as soon as an ACCT is created, the review dates are put in the diaries of those who need to attend.
Outside of ACCTs, the prison now chase up cases where there has not been at least a weekly entry on NOMIS in respect of each prisoner for the last 30 days (a recent inquest revealed that there had been no entry on NOMIS for 200 days).
Leavers Lounge for remand prisoners
We asked to see the new facilities to support remand prisoners as we knew of examples where remand prisoners received very little support when released unsentenced/not guilty. For example, some accommodation is only available for sentenced prisoners.
The idea of a new “departure lounge” came from an enthusiastic young officer, Ellen Larby. It provides basic phones and clothes and works on obtaining accommodation and passing on information about medication to the NHS. There is a good NHS card to show to GPs indicating their duty to take a newly released prisoner onto their books and a fold out card sized leaflet with lots of information and sources of help.
Preparing all prisoners for their release starts when they first arrive, although most of the work for sentenced prisoners is done by Offender Management Unit. The unsentenced had not really been covered before. The Wandsworth Prison Welfare Trust will try to help equip the Leavers Lounge with clothing and possibly access to colour printing.
The Leavers Lounge is run by two officers and is still officially a pilot. PO Larby’s salary is now paid out of AD’s own budget and funding will need to be found to keep this going. However, it is well thought of by AD’s boss and by the IMB.
Refurbishment
Contractors are currently working on K wing which has been stripped out but a full refurb will take at least a year. On Trinity wing additional showers are being installed in advance of a full refurb.
Once Trinity is complete, a new contract will be let for Heathfield which will include some refiguring of 3 cells into 2. As the contract has not yet been signed, refurbishment of Heathfield is unlikely to be completed for several years. In the meantime, some improvements are being made to showers. We saw some showers on D wing which looked smarter. We were told that a new detergent is being arranged to cut through grease on the walls. AD told us that a deep clean of Heathfield showers is taking place with better air cleaning units which should improve the ventilation.
The governor previously responsible for Trinity wings, where there is a better regime, has been moved to C and D wings in Heathfield, concentrating on getting more activity and turning them drug free. He has ordered additional equipment for prisoners to use out of their cells, including tables for communal eating.
Currently A and B wings use the C yard, which takes time and staff resources to manage. AD told us that Wandsworth has now been awarded money for a new yard to be shared by A and B wings.
Preparatory work is being done on the chapel, including plans for a mezzanine floor. This work will reduce the usable space in the E wing yard for three weeks.
Hot weather
During this summer’s hot weather the prison provided electric fans and cold water. We did not see the vents on the fourth floors but AD told us they can’t be opened, because if they’re open the fire alarm triggers, the boilers are closed down and then there is no hot water. The Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate have refused to sanction a workaround.
Hot water pipes running through the cells also act like radiators.
Phones
AD told us that on his walk-arounds recently 4 to 5 people said to him they had no PIN but on inquiry in 3 cases this was for public protection reasons. Overall AD thought that some 10-15 prisoners would never receive a PIN because of the need for public protection. AD confirmed that the charge for phone calls is determined by a national tariff. Redirection services, which would enable a call to be redirected to a mobile number, and which are therefore much cheaper, are not allowed because of public protection issues. We are aware that such services are widely used both in Wandsworth and other prisons and queried why these could not be sanctioned and publicised given that there seemed to be no greater public protection issues if a landline were diverted to a mobile and the costs were considerably reduced which meant that vulnerable prisoners would have greater access to their family. AD said that non-diversion to mobiles is national policy but agreed to ask HMPPS/MOJ about this
Drugs
AD told us that 19 people had been arrested in the community since December for organising drone deliveries. This was the result of a 3-week operation with police and specialists in organised crime. Disrupting these gangs led to an increase in prisoner on prisoner and prisoner on staff assaults. Although there is now less cannabis and fewer phones in the prison there is now a bigger problem with spice and hooch.
WPIC meeting
AD is open to the idea of attending another WPIC wider group meeting at some point later this year or early in 2026.
