Concern over empty cells in East Yorkshire prison
A state-of-the-art new prison in East Yorkshire is struggling to recruit and retain staff, putting further pressure on nationwide prison capacity, according to trade union leaders.
It needs to move much more quickly to ramp up delivery and make best use of its empty cells, according to the region’s Prison Officers’ Association representative.
HMP Millsike’s location, near HMP Full Sutton prison to the north west of Pocklington, means recruitment and retention of staff will prove to be a long-term challenge for prison bosses. This will prove to be a headache for policymakers who are looking to rapidly increase prison capacity.
The alarm has been raised as controversy continues around the government’s early release scheme. This month the Government introduced changes to prison release arrangements through the Sentencing Act 2026. The changes are intended to help ensure there is enough space in prisons, while making sure there is tough supervision of offenders when they are released to keep victims and the wider public safe.
But the changes have led to concerns that justice is not being served and too many offenders could be released from prison early. It could also mean further strain on essential frontline services in Hull and East Yorkshire, particularly stretched probation services.
HMP Millsike, is a category C prison for 1,500 prisoners and is operated by the outsourcing company Mitie. It is Britain’s newest prison but many cells are currently empty, despite the UK facing a severe prison capacity crisis. The Ministry of Justice estimates only 80% of HMP Millsike’s cells are in use – meaning hundreds of cells are essentially empty. By contrast, Hull Prison is overcrowded, with more offenders locked up there than prison cells available.
Ian Carson, a former prison officer and Prison Officers’ Association area representative for Yorkshire and the North East said:
“Given HMP Millsike has been open since March 2025, prison officers cannot believe their ‘ramp up period’ has been allowed to take this long. Many prison officers are commenting on why, given the pressure on prison space when Millsike was at the design stage, this was allowed.”
The prison’s rural location very close to HMP Full Sutton is making it difficult to recruit prison officers, adding HMP’s Millsike’s unused capacity is putting further pressure on other prisons
Mr Carson said:
“Putting pressure on private contractors is a last resort, after all senior people do not like to concede the contractor is failing, this is what happened at HMP Birmingham and HMP Lowdham Grange only as they were about to fall off the edge of the cliff. Staffing the prison is difficult because of the issues there and the location. HMP Full Sutton is over the road and has staff vacancies. If you wanted to become a prison officer surely you would opt for the public sector?”
The team running HMP Millsike are currently facing many complex challenges, with staffing and recruitment the key issue, according to Tom Wheatley, the President of the Prison Governors’ Association. He said: “Opening a prison from scratch is never easy and Mitie are entering the field of private prison operation for the first time, so they don’t have a large group of experienced staff to fall back on.
“The Director and other Senior Leaders are experienced prison leaders and they will be conscious of the need to open the prison safely. Staffing was always going to be an issue. Prison jobs are challenging and not everyone is suitable. The prison is located next door to HMP Full Sutton, who have themselves faced staffing issues in recent years.”
Safety for both prison staff and the prisoners is crucial, so more needs to be done to aid recruitment particularly in rural areas like East Yorkshire, according to Mr Wheatley.
He added: “Prison spaces are always at a premium. It would not be safe to increase the capacity at Millsike without sufficient trained staff to operate the prison. Many prisons are struggling to recruit and retain staff and those in rural locations, not well served by public transport can find it even more difficult.
“It’s rural location, the local employment market, there can be any number of issues. In the end it comes down to a reward package that is sufficiently attractive to people to make them want to work there.”
Recruitment can be easier for traditional prisons, like HMP Hull admitted Mr Wheatley. He explained:
“Some people are attracted by the history of more traditional prisons, they also tend to be in cities and are nearer to where staff live. Hull Prison is a public sector prison and that attracts some people because you are joining an organisation that has lots of sites you can work in to build your career. Being part of the public sector is still seen by some as a more secure career.”
A spokesperson for the Community trade union explained his organisation was the recognised trade body for HMP Millsike workers. He admitted the urgent need to move quickly in increasing capacity but warned staff safety had to be the top priority.
Gavin Miller, national secretary for Community, said:
“It is always possible to ramp things up more quickly in any type of workplace, however the concern is how that affects standards and most importantly – safety. I would have reservations about Millsike being rushed into operations as the staff there are learning their role. There is a wider conversation about how jails are established in the UK to be had as this is not the first instance of fledgling jails having operational issues, although I would say some of the operational issues are echoed by more established sites, they are more prominent in a newly opened site.”
He admitted challenges in recruitment and explained that retaining staff was an equally big issue.
Mr Miller said: “Every jail that we work in has an issue whereby people apply for a job, complete the training and when they have finished and go into the actual role they realise it isn’t for them. I would say that staff retention rather than continued recruitment is the more pressing issue to assist the long term future of HMP Millsike.
“I think the improvement in staffing levels comes before people are trained in so much as you put thought into how you are recruiting the right candidates before they walk through the door. Being blunt about the role and what it entails helps, I think that brevity before people fill in an application would help.”
A Mitie spokesperson explained prison bosses continue to recruit and train colleagues in line with operational requirements and the prison’s phased population build-up and said:
“HMP Millsike continues to operate in line with the ramp up plans agreed with the Ministry of Justice, with staffing and recruitment aligned to the prison’s phased population build-up. We remain focused on maintaining a safe, secure, and supportive environment for prisoners and colleagues.”
Cllr Leo Hammond, Deputy Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner and Conservative Councillor for The Wolds Weighton Ward of East Riding Council, said:
“The greatest frustration is that the issues we are now seeing are ones we warning about when we objected to and thought against this prison being built in the first place.
“Who in their right minds thinks dumping a four storey prison which needs 800 staff in the middle of the countryside next to a small village where there’s already a prison with staffing issues is going to work? It’s just poor planning and a waste of taxpayers money. Another example of civil servants in London and Birmingham not understanding rural communities and rural issues – I’ll always fight to try and change that.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson reiterated the occupation of new prisons is phased and managed carefully to ensure the prison remains safe, secure and stable as it ramps up.
The spokesperson explained:
“Public safety will always be our priority. We are fast-tracking a plan to keep more of the most serious offenders behind bars, on top of murderers, anyone on life sentences and those in prison for rape, serious child sexual abuse and grooming offences who are already blocked from any changes.
“We share the public’s anger that these options are even being considered, after we inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. We are fixing this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging on an unprecedented scale, and investing in probation services at record levels. We are also exploring how we can go further, including faster deportation of foreign criminals, better use of the women’s estate and reviewing the unjust IPP sentences.”
HMP Millsike is a state-of-the-art prison, and has some of the most advanced cells in the country, fitted with reinforced windows without bars and private shower and toilet facilities.
It is also one of the world’s most environmentally friendly prisons and runs solely on electricity, making it the first of its kind in the UK. The prison uses solar panels and heat pump technology to boost its eco-credentials.