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“Supportive atmosphere” found at Victoria House Approved Premises in Scunthorpe rated ‘Good’ following inspection

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Victoria House Approved Premises (AP) in Scunthorpe has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones, said: “The staff at Victoria House worked well together and leaders had fostered a supportive, collaborative atmosphere. A strong rehabilitative offer was in place and staff understood and responded well to the individual needs of residents.”

Victoria House AP had recently experienced a difficult time caused by staff shortages and delays in recruiting new staff. At the time of inspection, these issues were starting to resolve, and despite the challenges, inspectors described the service as feeling calm, stable and well led.

However, inspectors found safety and public protection to be below the expected standard, with medication storage arrangements not complying with policy or legislative requirements.

The inspection also identified weak oversight of residents’ movements, with staff not always adopting a sufficiently inquisitive or professionally curious approach. Stronger monitoring and questioning of resident activity was needed to keep people safe”.

Mr Jones continued, “The challenges faced by Victoria House prove that leaders can respond well to risk and have created a strong foundation for further improvement. With staffing levels stabilised, this AP is in a good position to thrive.”

The Inspectorate’s report makes seven recommendations. Five are for Victoria House leadership team, including to strengthen medication storage and auditing arrangements to ensure full compliance with policy and safe handling. Two recommendations are for HM Prison and Probation Service, including to reduce delays in staff vetting and recruitment processes to ensure that APs can fill vacancies promptly and maintain safe staffing levels.

ENDS 

Notes to editor 

  1. Approved Premises (APs) are residential units which provide temporary placements in the community for high-risk and complex people on probation. They offer enhanced supervision and rehabilitative support to individuals following release from prison.
  2. At the time of our inspection in February 2026, Victoria House had 19 residents in placement.
  3. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’, rating specific aspects of each service (for APs – leadership, staffing, safety, public protection, and rehabilitation) and giving an overall rating.
  4. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 25 March 2026 at 00.01.
  5. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
  6. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications: media@hmiprobation.gov.uk