Skip to content

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated.

To view this licence, visit:
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3

or write to:
Information Policy Team,
The National Archives,
Kew,
London TW9 4DU

or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

This publication is available at:
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.

© Crown copyright

HMP Lowdham Grange: unsafe, violent and failing to address longstanding concerns

Published:

An inspection of Lowdham Grange prison has revealed a further deterioration in outcomes for prisoners with critical and ongoing failures in safety.

Inspectors found that the number of use of force incidents had trebled, the number of violent incidents had increased, and the rate of self-harm was the third highest among category B training prisons. Compounding this was the ingress of illicit drugs, with 56% of surveyed prisoners saying it was easy to get hold of them, and 40.6% testing positive in random drug tests in the previous 10 months.

Since the last inspection in 2023 there had been 10 deaths in custody, four of which were suspected of being attributed to drug misuse. A very high number of medical emergencies were linked to drugs, yet health services were no longer providing round-the-clock care, were not meeting the needs of patients, and in some cases were unsafe. The prison’s response to recommendations made by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman and local learning reviews was also inadequate and not all incidents of self-harm were being recorded. Prisoners listed the inconsistency in the regime and prison systems, difficulty maintaining family ties and an inability to see health professionals as some of the triggers for self-harm.

The decline in standards at Lowdham Grange began with the mismanaged transition between the private service providers Serco and Sodexo. From 1998 to August 2023, Serco operated the prison on a 25-year contract, after which Sodexo managed the site for just a year until it was brought under the direct control of HMPPS in August 2024. This decision had created more stability, but improvements were recent and fragile, and there were many longstanding concerns. Just 39% of surveyed prisoners said that their experience in the prison would reduce their likelihood of reoffending, compared to 57% at the last inspection. Ultimately, the prison was failing to deliver its purpose as a training prison.

Although there were many challenges at Lowdham Grange, the new governor had established an understanding of the key issues that needed to be addressed, and inspectors left with some hope that the chaos seen at recent visits had started to subside. To maintain this momentum, the governor will need continued support to rebuild her senior team, better equip middle managers and develop a cohort of staff capable of delivering basic standards.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor

Notes to editors

  1. This inspection of Lowdham Grange took place between 3 and 14 March 2025.
  2. HMP Lowdham Grange is a men’s category B training prison.
  3. This report, published on 17 June 2025, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/  
  4. The inspection team assesses the establishment’s performance against the applicable healthy establishment tests using the following judgements: 4 – outcomes for prisoners are good, 3 – outcomes for prisoners are reasonably good, 2 – outcomes for prisoners are not sufficiently good and 1 – outcomes for prisoners are poor. In this inspection, the scores were Safety – 1, Respect – 1, Purposeful activity – 2, Preparation for release – 2.
  5. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
  6. Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.