HMP Forest Bank

In the complex and often controversial landscape of the UK prison estate, HMP Forest Bank stands as a potent symbol of modern penal philosophy: a large, privately managed Category B facility intended to serve as both a reception centre for Greater Manchester’s courts and a resettlement hub for sentenced men. Located in Pendlebury, Salford, the prison has been operational for over two decades, yet its history is punctuated by consistent struggles with high violence, drug ingress, and the constant pressure of overcrowding.

At the heart of the debate surrounding Forest Bank—and the wider justice system—is the critical balance between security and rehabilitation. And few factors are as pivotal to successful rehabilitation as the maintenance of strong family ties. This connection, however, is often undermined by the significant financial barrier posed by prison telephone costs. This post will delve into the history and current operational realities of HMP Forest Bank, examine the critical problems highlighted by recent inspections, and illustrate why affordable communication, enabled by services like callfromprison.co.uk, is an indispensable element in the fight against reoffending.

HMP Forest Bank’s History

The history of HMP Forest Bank is inextricably linked to the rise of private sector involvement in the UK prison system. The prison was constructed on the site of the former Agecroft Power Station in Salford and opened its doors in January 2000. Its development was a product of a 25-year Design, Construct, Manage, and Finance (DCMF) contract, initially won by Kalyx (now Sodexo Justice Services), which remains its operator today.

As a Category B male local prison, its primary function is twofold: to hold a mix of remand prisoners (those awaiting trial or sentencing) and sentenced adult men, including Young Offenders (18-21). This dual role makes its population volatile and often transient, creating unique challenges for stability and long-term rehabilitation planning. With a capacity typically hovering around 1,366 to 1,460 inmates, it is one of the largest correctional facilities in the North West of England, a key pillar in the region’s judicial infrastructure.

The decision to site and build a large, private facility like Forest Bank was driven by the need for modern capacity and the perceived efficiency of private management. While private prisons are often newer and can be designed with improved regimes in mind, their operation is scrutinised just as heavily, if not more so, than their publicly run counterparts.

Current Status And Challenges

HMP Forest Bank is meant to be a reception and resettlement prison, a model requiring a stable regime focused on education, work, and pre-release support. However, its current operational state, as documented in several scathing reports by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), suggests that its dual purpose is being fundamentally undermined by systemic issues.

The most recent inspections, including one from late 2024/early 2025, paint a picture of a prison struggling to fulfil its role successfully. While some positive strides have been made in areas like decency and restorative justice—the prison has been recognised for its commitment to restorative practice—the core rehabilitative mission is failing.

A major finding is the severe lack of purposeful activity. Inspectors found that a staggering number of prisoners, often around 40 per cent, spend the majority of their days locked in their cells with little or nothing to do. Educational provision has, in the past, been rated as 'inadequate' by Ofsted. This pervasive idleness not only leads to boredom and frustration but actively hinders the resettlement mission, meaning men leave custody without having acquired the essential skills and qualifications needed to break the cycle of crime. The transient nature of the population, often diverted to other establishments due to overcrowding, further complicates any attempt to implement long-term training programmes.

Violence, Drugs, and Staffing

The most critical and enduring problems at HMP Forest Bank revolve around safety and control. Inspection reports consistently highlight the jail’s failure to create a sufficiently safe environment for prisoners and staff:

High and Rising Violence:
Forest Bank has been repeatedly cited as one of the most violent comparable prisons in the country. Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are high, and many inmates report feeling unsafe. This violence is often fuelled by the next major problem.

Widespread Drug Ingress:
The facility struggles significantly with the infiltration of drugs and other illicit items, which are thrown over walls or brought in via corrupt individuals. The presence of these illicit substances, particularly synthetic drugs like Spice, fuels violence, debt, and subsequent self-harm.

Staffing Inexperience and Retention:
Like many prisons, Forest Bank grapples with a high turnover of staff. Inspections note a significant proportion of officers have less than a year’s experience. This inexperienced workforce can struggle to enforce the regime consistently, build positive relationships, and effectively de-escalate volatile situations, which in turn contributes to the cycle of violence.

The sheer volume of these challenges resulted in HMPPS issuing a formal Rectification Notice to Sodexo, an extreme measure underscoring the severity of the operational issues the prison has faced.

Prison Phone Call Charges At HMP Forest Bank

Against the backdrop of these internal struggles, the single, consistent factor that can meaningfully mitigate reoffending is the strength of family and social ties. Research unequivocally shows that prisoners who maintain regular, positive contact with their loved ones are significantly less likely to commit further crimes upon release.

Yet, this vital connection is made difficult by the cost of prison telephone calls. While the costs are regulated, they are paid for by the inmates themselves from their meagre weekly earnings (typically £5 to £15 from prison jobs) or from money sent in by their families. The system operates on a differential pricing structure:

Landline Calls:
Are the cheapest, typically costing between 6p and 8p per minute.

Mobile Calls:
Are substantially more expensive, often costing between 14p and 18p per minute.Since the vast majority of the UK population relies solely on mobile phones, prisoners wishing to contact their family often have to use a considerable chunk of their limited funds. A routine, 30-minute call to a mobile phone can cost over £5, consuming an entire day’s or even an entire week’s wages for some, creating an unacceptable financial barrier to rehabilitation that is disproportionately felt by the families on the outside.

Affordable Connections

Recognising this enormous and unnecessary financial strain, services like callfromprison.co.uk have emerged as essential, private-sector solutions. They directly address the disparity in calling costs, ensuring that maintaining family contact—a public good—is not contingent on a family’s financial resilience.

The service's mechanism is built entirely around exploiting the prison’s internal pricing structure:

Virtual Landline:
The family member purchases a subscription from callfromprison.co.uk and is assigned a unique, local-area virtual landline number.System Approval: This landline number is then placed on the inmate’s approved PIN list at HMP Forest Bank.

Cost-Saving Diversion:
When the prisoner dials this landline number, the prison’s system charges the inmate the low landline rate (6p-8p per minute). The call is then instantly and seamlessly diverted to the family member's mobile phone, wherever they are.

By charging a fixed monthly subscription—often around £24.99 for unlimited or high-volume minutes—the service allows prisoners to call mobile numbers at up to 75% less than the official mobile rate, stretching their call credit many times further. This means more frequent, longer, and less stressful conversations.

The social impact of this service cannot be overstated. By alleviating the financial pressure, it strengthens the very family ties that HMIP reports identify as crucial for successful release planning. For a prison like Forest Bank, with its mandated resettlement focus, making communication cheaper is a tangible and immediate way to support its core mission where internal regimes are currently falling short.

HMP Forest Bank’s two-decade history is a microcosm of the challenges facing private and public prisons alike: the constant battle against drugs, violence, and the critical shortage of resources needed to provide meaningful, purposeful activity. Despite its designation as a Category B reception and resettlement prison, its operational failures in these key areas are hindering its ability to prepare men for a crime-free life.

While the prison’s leadership must continue the difficult work of professionalising its staff, reducing drug ingress, and expanding education, the lifeline provided by affordable communication must be championed. The simple fact is that the future stability of an inmate is often secured by a phone call to a loved one, not just a certificate from a prison workshop. Services such as callfromprison.co.uk are not mere conveniences; they are a necessary patch in a broken system, proving that, sometimes, the greatest contribution to justice reform comes from ensuring the most basic human connection is not priced out of reach. For the men serving their time at HMP Forest Bank, a cheaper phone call is a vital step toward a better tomorrow.