Inspectors said in 2023 that HMP Risley released convicted sex offenders before they had finished treatment for their risk of reoffending. Its 2026 report says the shortfall continues, and the action plan responding to it never uses those words.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
In short. At its 2023 inspection, HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that "far too many prisoners convicted of sexual offences were released without having completed offending behaviour work specific to their risks" [2]. Its verdict on that concern by 2026: "Not addressed" [2]. Inspectors who returned in May 2026, to a prison re-roled since 2025 to hold only men convicted of sexual offences, 80% of them assessed as posing a high or very high risk of harm, found the same substance continuing in different words: a "fully staffed programmes team delivered the Building Choices programme... at both moderate and high intensity", but "capacity remained insufficient to meet demand" so "some prisoners were released before completing interventions" [2]. The 2026 report folds this into a general concern about "insufficient activity spaces" rather than naming the specific, previously flagged public-protection gap again [2]. HMP Risley's action plan, submitted 25 September 2026, answers that general concern with a capacity review (November 2026), a needs analysis and funding bid (March 2027), and a commitment to deliver programmes "to maximum capacity" (March 2027) (pages 6-7) [1] - no date or number attached to closing the gap itself. Four documented mistakes: three stars.
HMP Risley is a category C resettlement prison near Warrington, Cheshire, holding 1,013 men at the time of inspection against an operational capacity of 1,034 [2]. Since 2025 it has held only prisoners convicted of a sexual offence, 1,004 of the 1,013 men counted at inspection, with 80% of that population assessed as posing a high or very high risk of harm [2]. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor's team inspected unannounced from 11 to 21 May 2026 and found "a generally stable and optimistic prison that was making progress", rating it good for safety, reasonably good for respect, but "not sufficiently good" for purposeful activity and for preparation for release [2]. Twelve concerns came out of that visit, six of them priorities [2]. HMPPS's written response, submitted 25 September 2026, promises actions "clear, outcome focussed, measurable, achievable, with clear accountability and appropriate timescales for completion" (page 2) [1]. Set against the inspectorate's own record of what it has already called unaddressed, that promise does not hold on the concern that matters most for a prison built entirely around managing sexual-offence risk.
A public-protection gap that HMIP named once, then folded away
The inspectorate's "Progress on concerns from the last inspection" record is explicit about what it found in 2023: "far too many prisoners convicted of sexual offences were released without having completed offending behaviour work specific to their risks." Its verdict on that concern in 2026: "Not addressed" [2]. The 2026 report's own narrative confirms the substance persists, in its account of "opportunities for prisoners to progress": "a fully staffed programmes team delivered the Building Choices programme... at both moderate and high intensity", but "capacity remained insufficient to meet demand. Consequently, some prisoners were released before completing interventions, which was a source of frustration for some we spoke to" [2]. That is the 2023 finding continuing, on a prison whose entire population is now selected for sexual-offence risk. Yet the 2026 report's own list of 12 fresh concerns does not repeat it by name: the closest match is concern 4, a general finding that "there were insufficient activity spaces for the prison population, and too few accredited programmes to meet need" [2].
The action plan answers that general concern, not the specific one. Its response commits to review "the activity offer across HMP Risley... to maximise prisoner access" (Governor, November 2026), to "undertake regular population needs analyses" and "submit a bid to develop additional spaces" (Governor, March 2027), to keep demand for Building Choices "under review" as a national digital referral system develops (Psychology Services group, Ongoing), and to "deliver all accredited programmes to maximum capacity and introduce dual delivery" (Governor, March 2027) (pages 6-7) [1]. None of those four actions sets a date or a number for when prisoners will stop being released before their risk-specific treatment is finished, and none acknowledges that this is the same concern HMIP already called unaddressed once. The report does record one genuine step forward buried in the same section: "the recent introduction of the Healthy Sex Programme by psychology staff and Choices and Changes... represented a positive and encouraging development, although the numbers involved were low" [2] - real, but explicitly small-scale against a capacity gap the inspectorate says is still releasing men untreated.
A second repeat concern, on staff attitudes to protected groups
The same progress record marks a second concern "Not addressed" since 2023: "prisoners from some protected characteristic groups reported far more negative outcomes in some important areas. Far more disabled prisoners than those who did not have a disability felt unsafe, while some from a minority ethnic and Muslim background said they had experienced racism" [2]. The 2026 inspection raised a related concern in its own words: "prisoners from some protected characteristic groups felt unsupported. Their perceptions were that some staff were not actively interested in understanding the needs of different prisoner groups" [2]. The action plan's response is training and forums: mandatory equalities, cultural awareness, faith awareness and neurodiversity training for all staff (Governor, March 2027), expanded joint staff and prisoner events (Governor, March 2027), continued prisoner forums for protected characteristic groups (Governor, November 2026), and a new Equalities Meeting and Action Team to track themes (Governor, December 2026) (pages 5-6) [1]. As with the treatment-capacity concern, nothing in the response says this is the second run at the same underlying problem.
Unfunded infrastructure, and a homelessness rate the plan does not resource
A third concern gets an answer that names its own limits. On "the prison's infrastructure was in poor condition and continued to undermine standards of decency", HMPPS National Estates states plainly that "several bids have been received for a variety of works at HMP Risley; these remain unfunded and are currently held in the pipeline awaiting compliant and affordable proposals", covering ventilation, CCTV, roofing, heating mains, showers and the main gate, with no completion date beyond "Ongoing" for most items and February 2028 for a fire-safety programme (page 4) [1].
On release outcomes, the report records that of 981 prisoners released in the previous year, only 47 had found employment within six weeks and 123, better than one in eight, had been released homeless [2]. The action plan's local response is oversight, not capacity: "robust oversight of all prisoners approaching release through the professionals governance meeting" (Governor, October 2026) and closer work with "Probation and community partners to maximise access to available accommodation" (Governor, March 2027) (page 8) [1]. The substantive commitment is national and distant: "through the National Plan to End Homelessness, MoJ and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have committed to halving the proportion of people released homeless from prison... by the end of this Parliament" - 2029 (page 8) [1].
The claims, tested
| The claim | What the evidence shows | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| The plan's actions are "clear, outcome focussed, measurable, achievable, with clear accountability and appropriate timescales for completion" (page 2) [1] | The response to insufficient treatment capacity sets no date or number for ending early releases; infrastructure bids carry no date beyond "Ongoing" (pages 4, 6-7) [1] | Several responses lack the measurable end-point the plan promises |
| Sex offenders' risk-specific treatment needs are being met through Building Choices, delivered "to maximum capacity" (pages 6-7) [1] | HMIP's own 2026 report says capacity "remained insufficient to meet demand" and "some prisoners were released before completing interventions" - the same finding marked "Not addressed" since 2023 [2] | The gap HMIP first flagged in 2023 continues; neither the 2026 concern list nor the action plan names it |
| Prisoners released homeless are being addressed through oversight meetings and closer partnership work (page 8) [1] | 123 of 981 prisoners released in the last year were released homeless [2]; the plan's substantive fix is a national target for 2029 | Local actions manage the process; they do not add accommodation capacity now |
Four documented mistakes. First, HMIP's own 2023 finding that too many convicted sex offenders were released before completing risk-specific treatment was marked "Not addressed" in 2026, its substance confirmed in the report's own text, yet it does not appear by name among the 2026 concerns, and the action plan's response to the nearest matching concern sets no date or number for closing the gap. Second, a second 2023 concern, on protected characteristic groups feeling unsupported, is also marked "Not addressed", and the 2026 plan's training-and-forums response does not acknowledge its repeat status either. Third, the infrastructure concern's response names several unfunded work bids "held in the pipeline", with no completion date beyond "Ongoing" for most items. Fourth, the response to 123 of 981 prisoners being released homeless in the last year is local oversight now and a national target for 2029, not added accommodation capacity. Rated three stars out of five.
Credit where due
Inspectors found real strengths to set against this. They singled out a "dedicated key worker team... co-located within the offender management unit, which enabled effective joint working, better understanding of key processes and a clear focus on progression and resettlement", and a monthly "bereavement café" for prisoners who had experienced loss, "supported by a trained counsellor and the mental health team" [2]. The "recent introduction of the Healthy Sex Programme" was itself credited as "a positive and encouraging development" [2], and 149 prisoners progressed to open conditions in the last year [2]. Some of the action plan's other responses carry real near-term dates rather than open-ended process: body-worn video camera use is due to be brought under consistent scrutiny by September 2026, effectively immediately (page 9) [1], and prison offender managers are to meet every new arrival within five days to set out sentence-plan expectations, by December 2026 (page 12) [1]. The governor, in post since March 2026, was credited with beginning to "articulate a clear and credible set of priorities for the prison, focused on safety and public protection" [2].
Verdict
Three stars, from four documented mistakes. HMP Risley now exists to hold and manage convicted sex offenders, most of them at high or very high risk of harm. Its own inspectorate marked, in 2023, that too many were being released before finishing the treatment meant to reduce that risk, and its 2026 report says the capacity shortfall behind that finding continues today. The action plan responding to this inspection answers a renamed, generalised version of the concern with reviews and a funding bid, not a date for closing the specific gap the inspectorate first flagged three years ago. A prison that has built real strengths in key work and bereavement support has not brought the same rigour to the concern its own history says matters most.
Sources
- HM Prison and Probation Service, "HMP Risley Action Plan - (September 2026)" (PDF, submitted 25 September 2026, published on GOV.UK, checked 30 September 2026). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6aba2111a9c3d267bcccef5d/HMP_Risley_action_plan_-_September_2026.pdf - landing page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/risley-prison-action-plan--2
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons, "HMP Risley" (report on an unannounced inspection, 11 to 21 May 2026, published 24 August 2026, checked 30 September 2026). https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-risley-4/