HMP Wandsworth ordered 1,500 coats and 1,000 blankets when heating failed in November, its monitoring board says. Self-harm fell 27% but cells stay inhumane.
HMP Wandsworth had to order 1,500 extra coats and 1,000 blankets for prisoners last November, after its heating and hot water failed. The prison also bought in 2,000 instant noodles and soups.
The detail comes from the annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Wandsworth. It covers 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026 and was published this month. The board is a panel of local volunteers appointed under the Prison Act 1952, with the right to visit any part of the prison at any time.
What happened in November
The board says the supply of heating and hot water “continued to be inconsistent” through the year. That was despite replacement and temporary boilers being installed the year before. In earlier reports it recorded winter temperatures in some cells falling to 12C.
In November 2025 the problem became serious enough to be reported to HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) as a “Loss of Service” issue. The report says this led to:
- the prison’s command suite being opened
- an extra 1,500 coats being ordered for the men
- an extra 1,000 blankets
- 2,000 instant noodles and soups
Hot water outages carried on. In January 2026 the prison’s senior leadership agreed that any hot water outage lasting more than 30 minutes would be reported to HMPPS’s national incident management unit, its central crisis desk.
The board’s verdict is blunt. It says boiler and water circulation failures “will continue until the plumbing and heating systems are replaced in their entirety, rather than patched up in a piecemeal manner”.
A better year on violence and self-harm
The report is not all bad news. The board calls 2025/26 “a year of stability, recovery and progress”. It says HMPPS and HM Inspectorate of Prisons no longer consider the prison to be “of concern”, three years after its low point in 2023.
The prison’s own figures, as quoted by the board, show:
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Incidents of self-harm | 726 | 530 |
| Assaults by prisoners on staff | 354 | 222 |
| Assaults by prisoners on prisoners | 360 | 360 |
| Uses of force (estimated) | 1,705 | 1,286 |
| Deaths in custody | 4 | 5 |
The board notes that these are local management figures. They may not match the Ministry of Justice’s official statistics when those are published.
New this year were the Nightingale healthcare building, four years late, and the Sunflower unit for up to 20 neurodivergent men, opened in January. G wing on the Trinity block now runs on Scandinavian lines, with more time out of cell.
Conditions the board still calls inhumane
The board says men were still held in “unsafe, overcrowded, unsanitary and squalid conditions” in the Victorian buildings, which date from 1851. Its main findings include:
- most cells holding two men, in cells built for one
- around a third of staff unavailable for duty on an average day, with men locked up for up to 22 hours a day when the regime was cut
- most cells relying on battery smoke alarms outside the door rather than detectors inside the cell
- a pre-action letter from the Howard League for Penal Reform in October 2025 over fire safety
- refurbishment of K wing still unfinished after 20 months
- shower blocks with mould, broken doors and blocked drains
The prison held 1,434 men at the end of May, against a certified normal capacity of 963. Around half were foreign nationals, from 79 countries.
What it means for you
HMP Wandsworth is the borough’s prison, on Heathfield Road beside Wandsworth Common. If someone you know is held there, the IMB is the independent body that hears complaints prisoners cannot resolve with the prison itself. Prisoners apply to it directly through the prison. Families can contact the IMB at imb@justice.gov.uk, as listed on its HMP Wandsworth page.
The board has asked the minister and HMPPS to answer its questions. Last year’s report drew a written response dated 1 December 2025. The board says HMPPS did not answer the questions put to it directly, and that it will pursue them. We will report the response to this year’s report when it is published.
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