Funding cuts impact on the rehabilitation of prisoners at HMP Ford

In its 2024-25 annual report, published on 17 March 2026, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Ford highlights the increasingly negative impact of funding shortages on the prison’s ability to deliver on its all-important rehabilitation objective. The cuts to the education budget in particular are wholly inconsistent with Ford’s primary purpose of preparing prisoners for successful reintegration into society on release.

The IMB asks the following questions of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS):

• Given the significant cuts to the education budget (20% of the core budget and 40% of the discretionary budget), will HMPPS commit to restoring these to a level that promotes the rehabilitation of prisoners? The courses no longer available provided important life skills which prisoners at Ford will now miss out on.
• Each year the IMB reports on the failing building infrastructure at Ford. When will HMPPS set out and start to deliver a planned programme of maintenance and repair? In particular, the intermittent loss of hot water is a consistent issue which undermines prisoners’ dignity and their ability to present themselves appropriately for work.
• When will HMPPS ensure that appropriate phone access is put in place for the men at Ford? Frequent communication between prisoners and their support network is a critical component of progression towards an offending-free release and the current provision is inadequate to support this.

However, it is pleased to report that:

• In spite of the increase in the number of high-risk prisoners at Ford due to government policy changes, in the Board’s opinion the prison is generally safer and more secure than in previous years.
• The Governor and senior leadership team have taken a positive and proactive stance in dealing with the continuing challenges caused by funding cuts.

IMB Ford Chair, John Edwards, said: 

“It is commendable that HMP Ford has managed to provide a safer and more secure environment for prisoners than in previous years despite the increase in the number of high-risk prisoners arriving there as a consequence of government policy changes.

Against this positive outcome it is disappointing to have to continue to report on the crumbling and failing infrastructure of the prison due to the lack investment and cuts to the education budget, both of which are creating barriers for the prison to fulfil its rehabilitation and resettlement function.”