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Key data and contact details
| Name or Prison | HMP & YOI New Hall |
| Address: | Dial Wood, Flockton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 4XX |
| Other contact details: | Not available |
| Web Site: | Not available |
| Email: | Not available |
| Main switchboard: | 01924 803 000 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 01924 803 001 |
| Visits booking number: | 01924 803219 |
| Visits booking email: | visitsbooking.newhall@hmps.gsi.gov.uk |
| Visits booking txt number: | Not available |
| Type of Prison: | Female and YO |
HMP&YOI New Hall began life in 1933 as England’s first open prison, housing men from HMP Wakefield nearing release, before becoming a young offenders’ detention centre in 1961. It has operated as a closed women’s prison since 1987 and today holds adult women of all categories, along with some young people on detention and training orders, with an operational capacity of around 376, including a number of women serving life or indeterminate sentences.
The Independent Monitoring Board’s 2024–25 annual report praised New Hall’s reception process as efficient and professionally run, and highlighted a well-regarded psychological support programme for new arrivals and an expanded, round-the-clock listener scheme run with Samaritans. However, self-harm incidents rose significantly over the year, to over 1,100, and healthcare applications to the Board increased by half, mostly relating to medication delays. The Board raised particular concern about women with severe mental health conditions facing unacceptable delays in transferring to secure hospital care, leaving the prison acting as a de facto mental health placement it is not resourced for.
Given these mental health pressures, families with a loved one at New Hall may find it worth asking directly about healthcare and wellbeing support during visits — the contact details above are the best way to arrange this.