HMP Featherstone

History and role

In shortFeatherstone is a publicly run category C training and resettlement prison that mainly releases into the Midlands.

• MoJ bulletin, 24 August 2026615 / 642Prisoners against operational capacity

It sits on the same Featherstone site as HMP & YOI Brinsford and HMP Oakwood, and GOV.UK describes it as a men's prison in the village of Featherstone, near Wolverhampton. It is part of the HMPPS West Midlands prison group.

Practice Plus Group

Physical health.

Inclusion with the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Mental health and psychosocial substance misuse treatment.

Novus

Education. The prison is publicly run, with health and education delivered by these external providers, as HMIP names them.

Who is held and the house units

In shortFeatherstone held 658 adult men, mostly from the West Midlands, across seven houses of mixed purpose.

• Held (September 2025)658 menPrincipally from the West Midlands region
• Received in a year901About 75 a month; around 40 released each month
• Substance misuse support238 men
• Mental health referrals48 a monthAverage, for assessment

Many were serving long sentences of over four years, and many were considered to present a significant risk of harm to others. The older residential units were mostly built in the 1970s.

Houses 1, 3 and 4

General residential (120 places each).

House 2

A Creating Future Opportunities and incentivised substance-free living unit (120).

House 5

The induction unit (100).

House 6

An incentivised substance-free living unit (35).

House 7

A drug recovery wing (57).

What inspectors found in September 2025

In shortHMIP judged outcomes not sufficiently good for safety, respect, purposeful activity and release preparation.

• All four testsNot sufficiently goodSafety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release
• Earlier concerns3 of 11Fully addressed; the first inspection since May 2022
• Self-inflicted deaths10th highestRate among adult male prisons

HMIP's unannounced inspection (report published 12 January 2026) described the older units as being in poor condition, with a 'drabness' that undermined well-being, although the prison was reasonably clean.

Violence and self-harm were comparable to other category C trainers, but there was no plan to drive improvement.

The June 2026 review of progress

In shortHMIP found good or reasonable progress on seven of ten concerns, but no meaningful progress on the buildings.

• Good progress4 of 10
• Reasonable progress3 of 10
• Insufficient progress2 of 10
• No meaningful progress1 of 10
• Random drug tests positive23%19% in the first three months of 2026

HMIP returned on 1 to 3 June 2026 (report published 13 July 2026) to follow up ten concerns. Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults had fallen by 36% and assaults on staff by 61% against the earlier six-month period, self-harm had fallen by 54%, and there had been no further self-inflicted deaths.

Staff, regime and working here

In shortOfficer retention had improved but shortfalls had led to a restricted regime; Featherstone is on the national pay zone with no market supplement.

• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE)182 / 184Against target, HMPPS workforce statistics 30 June 2026
• Market supplementNoneNot on the HMPPS tables as at 3 October 2026
• Starting pay£34,928 to £39,334Band 3, 37 to 41 hours

HMIP's 2025 report said retention of officers had improved but persistent shortfalls had led to a recently introduced restricted regime, and that the recruitment pipeline was uncertain after changes to visa sponsorship rules for officers recruited from overseas.

The governor had built a largely new senior team and was running a programme to develop positive behaviours among custodial managers. At the June 2026 review leaders had increased staffing and rotated officers to balance skills and experience across the general houseblocks, and officers and managers were more visible on landings.