HMP Lowdham Grange making improvements under control of the prison service, say independent monitors

Conditions at a “prison in crisis” have improved, independent monitors say, despite ongoing drugs and violence problems.

HMP Lowdham Grange faced severe turbulence during a handover between private operators Serco and Sodexo in 2023, resulting in it being taken over by HM Prison and Probation Service in 2024.

The Independent Monitoring Board published its report today (June 18), detailing concerns and improvements at the category B men’s prison.

It comes just a day after HM Inspectorate of Prisons published its report, which found 15 key concerns including drugs, use of force, and poor preparation for prisoners’ release.

Among its main findings, the Independent Monitoring Board highlighted that prisoners were frequently found unresponsive after using powerful psychoactive substances, commonly called spice.

Prisoners reported to the board that drugs were readily available, and on average 38.2% of mandatory drug tests were positive.

Of six deaths in custody in the reporting period, overdoses of illicit drugs are suspected in five of them — with a number of other ‘near-misses’ where staff have successfully saved lives.

Although levels of prisoner-on-prisoner violence have fallen, assaults on staff rose by almost 25%, and the use of force to restrain prisoners also increased significantly, from 414 incidents in the previous reporting year to 762 instances in the current reporting year — more than two every day.

113 in-cell fires had also been set in the 2024-25 period, which prisoners told board members was as a protest against the restrictions of the prison’s regime. The number had decreased following the takeover by HM Prison and Probation Service.

Mental health services also remain a concern in the prison, with an increased number of prisoners self-harming — although the number of self-harm incidents have decreased.

The board say many of the prisoners have not had the care they need because of a shortage of trained psychiatric staff.

The psychology unit was disbanded under the previous contractor and the prison has had difficulty recruiting experienced senior staff to run the required courses to support prisoners in changing their behaviour.

Other health services are also a concern due to a shortage of staff, and staffing issues within the prison’s probation service also led the board to determine “prisoners are released without full support”.

Chairman of the Lowdham Grange IMB, John Andrews, said: "From our observations, we believe that there has been progress in making the prison a generally safer place for prisoners since HMPPS took control from the private operator in August 2024.

“Security has been stepped up considerably to prevent drugs getting in, but the use of drones to deliver illicit items has remained a serious problem.

“The board believes that the introduction of Naloxone, which counteracts the effect of opioid drugs, has saved several lives since it was made available on the wings.

“However, the board continues to have concerns about the experiences of the most vulnerable prisoners. We understand additional staff are to be recruited to the mental health team, but without a team of regular nursing practitioners to work with, it is difficult to envisage lasting benefits for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm.”

In the 2024-25 period, illicit items found during searches included; 410 drugs, 309 mobile phones, 319 weapons, and 238 instances of ‘hooch’ improvised alcoholic drinks. Together this represented a 43.1% increase in items from the previous year.

Improvements at the prison include enhanced gate security, greater vigilance to detect drone activity over the prison and good liaison with Nottinghamshire Police to counter drone operations outside, and the introduction of inhaled naloxone to neutralise the effects of an opioid overdose.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This Government is gripping the prisons crisis it inherited last summer. We have been working hard over the last year to fix the serious issues at HMP Lowdham Grange that forced us to take over its running from Sodexo and are pleased the report acknowledges the progress made.

“We know there is more to do and we have already provided additional staffing and training to address the issues. This is on top of landmark sentencing reforms to reduce pressure on our prisons.”