Inspector reports Swinfen Hall flaws

A flagship experiment to place young adult prisoners with older inmates has been hampered by the rise in the prison population and a lack of activities.

A doubling of the population of Swinfen Hall prison and young offender institution in the West Midlands means its status as a centre of excellence is being “severely tested”, the chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, said in a report this week.

Swinfen Hall is piloting a new model of holding prisoners aged 18 to 25 as the government looks to abolish the sentence of detention in a YOI for under-21s.

But a lack of education opportunities and poor teaching has affected the scheme’s success, Owers said.