More than £1.4million has been paid in settlements to staff injured while working at Welsh prisons. Out of four jails analysed, HMP Cardiff employees landed the highest amount in settlements — totalling almost £500,000 over the last five years.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request by Accident Claims showed the prison service paid settlements to staff or ex-staff at all the Welsh prisons in the data — HMP Cardiff, HMP Swansea, HMP Berwyn in Wrexham and HMP Usk in Monmouthshire — between 2019 and 2024. The statistics do not include privately-run Parc prison in Bridgend, which has been the subject of recent controversy over drug deaths and alleged corruption.
The prison service paid out £471,128 in settlements over incidents at Cardiff, £438,669 at Berwyn, £325,940 at Usk and £190,899 at Swansea. The FoI response shows that over the five years there were more than 32 claims from staff at Berwyn, more than nine at Swansea, and more than eight at Cardiff, though it does not give the exact year-by-year numbers of claims for ‘data protection’ reasons.
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Across the five years there were more than 1,628 claims from people who had worked at UK prisons, of which 592 were settled. The claims included 637 from staff who alleged they had been assaulted by inmates and 249 who said they had been hurt while restraining prisoners. Other categories of claim included assault by colleague, falls from height, hearing damage, “bunk bed related”, allergic reaction, “crushed”, infectious diseases, smoke inhalation, and witnessing self-harm or attempted suicide. The numbers of claims of those types were not given.
The number of UK prisoners has risen in recent years — from 43,000 in 1994 to more than 88,000 in 2024 — but prison officer staffing has been mostly static. On an average day in the UK, there are eight assaults by prisoners on staff. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Our jails are overcrowded, have been neglected for too long, and our hardworking staff are over-stretched. By addressing this crisis, we can begin the work of improving prison conditions to reduce the need for compensation claims and ensure taxpayer money is spent more effectively.”
The MoJ added that prison officers have been using synthetic pepper spray PAVA and wearing bodycams to improve their safety. Its spokesman said: “The Government is investing in prison maintenance and security, and prisoners who are violent towards staff or other prisoners will face the full consequences of their actions.”
JF Law solicitor Lucy Parker said: “Prison staff face a unique and challenging environment daily. When they are injured due to negligence, whether it’s an assault by an inmate, a slip and fall, or inadequate safety measures, they have the right to seek compensation. It’s crucial for prison staff to understand their legal rights and seek professional legal advice to ensure their claim is handled fairly.”