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Officer shortages and inexperienced staff remain an issue at HMP Bullingdon

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HMP Bullingdon

The shortage of prison officers and the increasing proportion of inexperienced staff remain the key concerns for the Independent Management Board (IMB) at HMP Bullingdon. The Board’s 2024-25 annual report, published today (26 November 2025), highlights the impact this has had on the prison’s regime and the knock-on effect on progression and resettlement opportunities for prisoners.

The Board notes that:

  • Of the 11,645 planned keywork sessions less than half took place due to the lack of available staff. Keywork sessions are important to help build positive relationships between prisoners and staff and for prisoner progression towards successful resettlement.   
  • The prison remains chronically overcrowded with significant numbers of prisoners sharing cells designed for single occupancy.
  • Levels of violence remain high, with only three of six wings in the prison covered by CCTV systems which has a negative impact on investigations into violent incidents, and makes the illicit passing of contraband harder to prevent.
  • It is difficult for the high numbers of prisoners on remand or serving short sentences to engage with meaningful education or work programmes, which restricts their chances of successful resettlement after release.


However, the Board is pleased to report that:

  • Despite the staffing issues the Board has observed officers present a caring and understanding attitude towards prisoners.
  • During the six months ending June 2025, 4,243 prisoners arrived in reception. While this high level of `churn` creates various problems, the prison has introduced a new reception and induction process which has improved prisoner experience on arrival.

The IMB Bullingdon Chair, Jennifer Pilkington said:

“Continuing issues around staffing in the prison are preventing the delivery of successful outcomes for prisoners, and the Board urges the Minister to prioritise initiatives that will overcome this fundamental problem. Furthermore, sustained overcrowding in HMP Bullingdon has contributed to levels of violence remaining unacceptably high.”