The Prisons Handbook 2027
THE PRISONS
HANDBOOK
2027
The Definitive Annual Guide to the Prison System of England and Wales — now in its 28th annual edition
Discounts for Prisons, Prison Staff, Prisoners & Charities!
PPreface pages
- About the Editor: Mark Leech FRSA
- Prisoner Location Service
- Foreword: James McEwen, Director General, Chief Executive Officer, HM Prison and Probation Service — Education: Knowledge that changes lives
- Dedication: Bobby Cummines OBE
- Editorial: Mark Leech FRSA — End of an Era: Charlie Taylor’s Legacy and the Future of Prison Inspections
- The Prisons Handbook: The Back Story
- Glossary
01Prison Estate & Management 2027
- HMPPS Details of the Area Model, Key Officials, Groups, Prisons & Governors
- HMPPS Executive Leadership
- Area Executive Directors
- Executive Directors - Operations, Probation & Youth Custody
- Executive Directors - reporting to the Chief Executive
- Non-Executive Directors - HMPPS Agency Board
- MoJ Directors on the HMPPS Leadership Team & Agency Board
- Wales Group
- London Group
- South West Group
- South Central Group
- North West Group
- Women’s Group
- North East Group
- Midlands Group
- South East Group
- East Group
- Long-Term & High Security Estate Group (LTHSE)
- Prison Group Directors - all groups
- Regional Probation Directors - all regions
- Youth Custody Service
- Privately managed prisons
- Annual Performance Ratings 2025/26
- Prisons Map 2027
- The Prison Estate 2027
- Prison Governors / Directors
- 1.1 Prison Establishments A-Z — circa 500 pages of details on every prison establishment in England and Wales
02Advice 2027
- 2.1 Early Days in Custody
- 2.2 Offending Behaviour Programmes
- 2.3 Criminal Cases Review Commission
- 2.4 Requests & Complaints
- 2.5 Prisoner Communications
- 2.6 Drugs & Alcohol in Prison
- 2.7 Prison Disciplinary System
- 2.8 Who Can Help?
- 2.9 Healthcare
- 2.10 Religion
- 2.11 Equality
- 2.12 Benefits & Subsistence
- 2.13 Release & Recall (Determinates)
- 2.14 Indeterminate Sentences
- 2.15 Women Prisoners
- 2.16 Young Offenders (18-21)
- 2.17 Young People (15-17)
- 2.18 Foreign Nationals
- 2.19 Disability in Prison
- 2.20 Education, Training & Skills
- 2.21 Work & Pay
- 2.22 Incentives
- 2.23 Civil Partnerships & Marriage
- 2.24 Elderly Prisoners
- 2.25.1 Segregation
- 2.25.2 Close Supervision Centres
- 2.25.3 Separation Centres
- 2.26 Security Categorisation
- 2.27 Remand, Unsentenced & Civil
- 2.28 Stop Press: Late Policy Changes
03The Directory 2027
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- Criminal Cases Review Commission
- Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
- Crown Prosecution Service
- Disclosure & Barring Service
- Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons
- HM Inspectorate of Probation
- HM Prison & Probation Service
- Home Office
- Independent Monitoring Boards
- Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
- Justice Committee
- Law Commission
- Law Officers' Departments
- Legal Aid Agency (LAA)
- Ministry of Justice
- Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
- Official Solicitor & Public Trustee
- Parole Board
- Prison Governors' Association
- Prison Officers' Association
- Prisons & Probation Ombudsman
- Probation Service
- Sentencing Council
- Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
- Youth Justice Board
06Annual Reports 2026
- 6.1.1 HMPPS Annual Report 2024/2025
- 6.1.1.1 HMPPS IPP Annual Report 2025/2026
- 6.1.2 PPO Annual Report 2025/2026
- 6.1.3 HMCI Prisons A/Report 2025/2026
- 6.1.4 Parole Board A/Report 2025/2026
- 6.1.5 HMCI Probation A/Report 2025/2026
- 6.1.6 Youth Justice Board A/R 2025/2026
07Facts and Figures 2027
- 7.1 Over 400 Parliamentary Questions & Answers on Prisons 2026
- 7.2 Deaths in Custody 2026 — details of over 400 deaths in custody in the last year
- 7.3 Awards & Prizes 2026 — prison staff recognised for doing an exceptional job in an exceptional way
08Prison Staff 2027
- 8.1 Prison Officers
- 8.1.1 Introduction
- 8.1.2 Pay
- 8.1.3 Prison Officer Applications
- 8.1.3.1 First Time Prison Officer Recruitment
- 8.1.3.2 Futures Recruitment Scheme
- 8.1.4 Prison Officer Benefits
- 8.1.5 Shift Work
- 8.1.6 Prison Officer Training
- 8.1.7 Training Curriculum
- 8.2 Prison Governors
- 8.2.1 Two ways to become a Prison Governor
- 8.2.2 The Future Prison Leaders Programme
- 8.2.3 Salary
- 8.3 Promotion
- 8.4 HMPPS Workforce Statistics
- 8.4.1 Total HMPPS staff in post
- 8.4.1.1 Length of Service
- 8.4.2 Band 3-5 prison officers and band 2 operational support staff
04Prisoners and the Law 2027
Including all the latest legal changes with the Sentencing Act and the Progression Model of SDS33/40
- 4.1 Introduction: Prisoners & The Law
- 4.1.1 The Prison Rules
- 4.1.2 The Parole Board Rules
- 4.1.3 Policies, Instructions & Orders
- 4.1.3.1 Policy Frameworks
- 4.1.3.2 Prison Service Instructions
- 4.1.3.3 Prison Service Orders
- 4.2 A-Z Index — over 400 prison law subjects from Access to Justice to Zoonotic Infections!
- 4.3 Criminal Appeals
05Something to Say? 2027
- 5.1 Mark Fear, Product & Marketing Director at Thruvision — Mobile Screening Against Prison Contraband
- 5.2 Tom Wheatley, President, Prison Governors’ Association — Sentencing Reform: A Once-In-A-Generation Missed Opportunity?
- 5.3 Professor Mary Margaret McCabe FBA, FKC, King’s College London — The Magic Hour: A Proposal For Prison Education
- 5.4 Jon Collins, Chief Executive Officer, Prisoners’ Education Trust — Getting Prison Education Right
- 5.5 Steve Gillan, General Secretary, Prison Officers’ Association — Crisis Without End: The Prison Service Of England and Wales
- 5.6 Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Justice Board — The Next Chapter For Youth Justice
- 5.7 Martin Jones CBE, HM Chief Inspector Of Probation — Repairing And Restoring Probation: A Call For Concerted Action
- 5.8 Pia Sinha, Chief Executive, Prison Reform Trust — The Next Generation Prison Leaders Programme
- 5.9 Dame Vera Baird DBE KC, Chair, Criminal Cases Review Commission — The Last Resort, Reformed, What HMCPSI Means For The CCRC
- 5.10 Jon Bratt, Director, HM Prison Thameside — Beyond The Contract: What I’ve Learnt About The Relationship Between Directors And Controllers
- 5.11 Tony Simpson, Chief Operating Officer, Sodexo Justice — Supporting Women Into Employment On Prison Release
- 5.12 Adrian Usher, Prisons And Probation Ombudsman For England And Wales — Further To The Case For Independent Oversight Of HMPPS Staff Conduct (Interview)
08Prison Staff 2027 (continued)
- 8.4.3 Probation practitioners and senior probation officers
- 8.4.4 Joiners and Leavers
- 8.4.4.1 Leaving Rates
- 8.4.4.2 Resignation Rates
- 8.4.5 Sickness absence
- 8.5 HMPPS Staff Equality
- 8.5.1 Total Staff in Post
- 8.5.2 Joiners
- 8.5.3 Temporary Cover
- 8.5.4 Promotions
- 8.5.5 Recognition and reward bonuses
- 8.5.6 Grievances
- 8.5.7 Investigations, Conduct & Discipline cases
- 8.5.8 Sickness Absence
- 8.5.9 Leavers
- 8.6 HMPPS 2026/2027 Pay Scales
- 8.6.1 The Prison Service Pay Review Body: Twenty-Fifth Report
- 8.6.2 The Government's response
Index
Alphabetical index to the 2027 edition
Ordering The Prisons Handbook 2027
The Definitive Annual Guide to the Prison System of England and Wales — now in its 28th annual edition, circa 1,400 pages.
ISBN: 978-1-0666439-0-5
Status: Scheduled Publication: 31 October 2026
Includes all the latest changes to earlier release resulting from the Sentencing Act 2026 and the Progression Model of SDS33/40!
Important Questions Answered
Do we know what we’re doing?
Yes! Prisons Org UK is an MoJ Approved Book Retailer, and we’ve been doing this for over 25 years.
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Can you send the book to the prison for me?
Absolutely, as an MOJ Approved Book Retailer we do this all the time - and we MUST send book ourselves to the prison if you choose to pay the inmate discount price. For us to send the book to the prison you MUST place the prisoner's (i) full name, (ii) full prison number and (iii) full prison address as the Delivery Address during the check-out process. If you select the inmate discount price and put the Delivery Address as anything other than a prison address, our system detects that and your order will automatically be stopped; to claim the inmate discount we MUST send the book direct to the prison ourselves
Can I send the book to the prison myself?
Yes — you can, but… If you prefer to have the book sent to you, so you can send the book to the prison yourself, be aware this means:
- You lose all the prisoner discount — you must pay the full public price and until you do, the order will be stopped; and
- You pay two lots of postage — one for us to send you the book, and a second when you send the book to the prison; and
- There is likely to be a delay in the book being issued while it is subject to security checks.
International postage zones
The postage and packing prices are set by default to the mainland United Kingdom. If you want the book(s) you have purchased to be sent outside of the UK, please study our international postage rates below and select the right rate during the checkout process.
There are four rates: Europe Zone, World Zone 1 (WZ1), World Zone 2 (WZ2) and World Zone 3 (WZ3). Each of these postage methods is fully tracked and signed for on delivery. When you select the appropriate shipping rate during checkout, the correct postage and packing rate is automatically inserted.
Please note the delivery timescale for international orders, whatever the zone, is five to seven days, but delays may occur. For queries, use our Contact Form.
Singapore is in World Zone 2. USA is in World Zone 3.
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