A key findings paper by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on ‘the experiences of remand prisoners’ has added to a growing body of evidence that the prison system is under sustained and deepening pressure – and those on remand are paying a disproportionate price

Across the estate, inspectors continue to report overcrowding, poor living conditions, high levels of drug use, and limited access to meaningful activity. These are not new issues, but they are becoming more entrenched, with serious implications for safety, wellbeing, and rehabilitation.

Within this context, the inspectorate highlights that one group is being consistently overlooked: people held on remand.

A system struggling to deliver safety and truly purposeful environments:

Inspection findings highlight that too many prisons are failing to provide safe, decent, and purposeful environments.

Overcrowding is widespread, driving restricted regimes where people spend long periods locked in their cells. Opportunities for education, work, and rehabilitation remain limited, with purposeful activity frequently rated as poor.

At the same time, drugs continue to destabilise prison life, fuelling violence, debt, and worsening mental health.

Taken together, these conditions create environments that are not only ineffective, but actively harmful.

The growing remand population reflects wider system failure

The increasing number of people held on remand is a clear symptom of wider pressures across the justice system, particularly the ongoing backlog in the courts. Around 17,700 people were held on remand in September 2025, accounting for 1 in 5 people in prison, and the highest level in at least 50 years. This represents a significant rise from pre-pandemic levels, when the remand population was closer to 11,000.

People are now waiting significantly longer for their cases to be heard. For many, this means spending months, and in some cases years, in prison without having been convicted. This is particularly concerning given that many people held on remand will not go on to receive a custodial sentence. Around one in ten are acquitted at trial, and more than one in five are not sent to prison at all, meaning thousands of people experience custody despite ultimately not being sentenced to it.

Held in limbo, without support

People on remand are often among the most vulnerable in the system, yet they are the least well served. The early days in custody are known to be a high-risk period for self-harm and distress. For people on remand, who are facing uncertainty, isolation, and long waits, these risks are even greater.

Inspection findings and sector evidence consistently show that people on remand have limited access to education, training, and rehabilitative support, experience frequent movement between prisons, which disrupts continuity of care, spend long periods locked in cells with little meaningful activity, and receive little or no preparation for release.

In practice, this means that time on remand is rarely used constructively. Instead, people are left in a state of uncertainty, waiting for court outcomes while their needs go unmet.

For many, this is a period where mental health deteriorates, substance use escalates, and opportunities for early support are missed.

The cyclical impact on the wider system

The growing remand population is not only a concern in its own right; it is also intensifying pressure across the prison estate.

As more people are held for longer periods, overcrowding increases, regimes become more restricted, staff capacity is stretched further, and access to services is reduced for everyone.

Without action to address court delays and reduce unnecessary use of remand, these pressures will continue to escalate.

Recent legislative changes, including amendments to the Bail Act through the Sentencing Act, are intended to reduce the use of remand in cases where there is no real prospect of a custodial sentence. It will be important to monitor how effectively these changes are implemented in practice.

What needs to change: from evidence to action

The evidence is clear. What is now needed is coordinated, system-wide action that addresses both the causes and consequences of the growing remand population.

1. Tackle court backlogs as a matter of urgency

Delays in the courts are driving the rise in remand. Government must prioritise sustained investment in the courts system, including workforce capacity and infrastructure, to ensure cases are heard in a timely way.

2. Reduce the unnecessary use of remand

There must be a stronger presumption against the use of remand, particularly for non-violent offences. Community-based alternatives should be used wherever possible, with appropriate support in place.

This includes strengthening the application of the ‘no real prospect of custody’ test, to ensure remand is not used unnecessarily.

3. Guarantee equitable access to support in custody

Even though people on remand make up around one in five people in prison, many are effectively shut out of key support and services because of their legal status.

This means that people who may ultimately be acquitted or released from court can spend months, or even years, in custody without access to the education, training, treatment and rehabilitation available to others.

Everyone held in prison, regardless of conviction status, should have equitable access to mental health and substance misuse services, education and purposeful activity. Otherwise, we risk entrenching inequality in a system where some people are denied the chance to prepare for release or stability, even when they will shortly be walking free from court.

4. Prioritise early intervention in the first days of custody

Reception into custody is a critical moment. Trauma-informed, person-centred support should be in place from day one, particularly for those on remand who may be entering custody unexpectedly.

5. Strengthen continuity between community and custody

This includes access to mental health and substance misuse support, education, training, and purposeful activity, as well as essential rehabilitative services such as Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS), soon transitioning to Community and Custody Services (CCS), alongside through-the-gate and resettlement support.

6. Invest in voluntary sector provision

The voluntary sector plays a key role in reaching people on remand and providing flexible, person-centred support. Sustainable funding is needed to enable organisations to deliver and expand this work.

7. Embed lived experience in policy and practice

People with lived experience of remand bring essential insight into what works. Their voices must be meaningfully included in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services and policy responses.

A call for a more just and effective approach

The latest inspection findings are clear; the current system is not working.

For people on remand, this failure is particularly acute. They are held in custody for extended periods, often in poor conditions, without access to the support they need, and without having been convicted.

Support for people on remand must therefore be a priority to ensure they are not disproportionately punished by a broken system.