Prison
Cat B, C, D, local, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Lewes
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 16 June 2020
This report covers HMP Lewes from February 2019 to January 2020. The Board is concerned about prisoner safety due to illicit items and frequent lockdowns, noting a worsened regime and often indecent accommodation. Healthcare suffered from staff shortages and long waiting times, while education, work, and resettlement efforts were hampered by lack of places and IPRC closures. Despite some positive initiatives, the Board maintains serious concerns regarding basic entitlements, mental health provision, and the overall humane treatment of prisoners.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomes an overall reduction in violence and self-harm incidents, alongside the introduction of new security measures like Rapiscan itemisers, X-ray machines, and drug detection dogs. In-cell telephony has improved family contact, and redecoration programmes have enhanced the physical environment. Significant improvements were noted in dentistry services and mental health waiting times due to new contracts and practices, and smoking cessation efforts remain successful. Staff are often observed treating prisoners fairly and with humanity.
Key Concerns
Substance Misuse
The high availability of drugs and other illicit items affects the stability of the prison and the safety of prisoners.
Estate/Conditions
The residential accommodation at the establishment is often not decent, and at times the prison has failed to provide the prisoners with their basic entitlement, including shoes, blankets, furniture and crockery.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The regime offered to prisoners has worsened since the last reporting year and does not allow prisoners to be unlocked sufficiently often, with extensive periods locked up.
Healthcare
Repeated
For much of the reporting year, the delivery of healthcare services has suffered from staff shortages, poor process and communications, leading to unacceptable waiting times for GP appointments.
Mental Health
Repeated
The number of prisoners seen over the reporting year who are seriously mentally unwell and kept in conditions, be it accommodation standards or the regime, which are entirely unsuitable for their care or rehabilitation.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The lack of work places and discouraging attendance figures for both work and education, alongside the unsuccessful implementation of the Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Disabled prisoners do not always have fair access to their accommodation due to structural barriers, including cell doors too narrow for wheelchairs, and lack of access to general exercise areas.
Resettlement/Release
Preparation for release continues to be negatively affected by regular closure of the induction and pre-release centre (IPRC) due to escort reallocation.
Segregation
Prisoners refusing to return to normal location from the CSU due to fear, and the inadequate understanding and unauthorised use of special accommodation.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff shortages significantly impacted healthcare, leading to morale issues and increased reliance on temporary staff, with the main provider averaging 9 vacancies and 50-60 agency shifts monthly. Education provision also suffered from staff shortfalls, resulting in an average of 128 lost hours per month. The new Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model struggled with low key worker session delivery, averaging only 15% annually.
Healthcare
Healthcare delivery was hampered by staff shortages, poor processes, and communication breakdowns among eight different service providers, affecting prescriptions and referrals. Waiting times for GPs were unacceptable, peaking at 107 days for non-urgent appointments, and dental waits were often many months. Regime restrictions and logistical issues led to high non-attendance rates and cancelled appointments, with complaint management remaining poor. However, new contracts improved dentistry and mental health access, and prisoners generally praised the caring attitude of practitioners when access was achieved.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime significantly deteriorated with increased planned and unplanned lockdowns, especially on weekends, resulting in prisoners being locked up from Saturday lunch until Sunday afternoon. Weekday regimes also had major failings, with non-working prisoners locked for over 22 hours daily and all meals eaten in cells. Training day lockdowns exacerbated these issues, and access to the gym was severely restricted due to staff shortages. These restrictions negatively impacted access to healthcare, work, and resettlement services.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 9 | 17 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 3 | 5 | |
| E 1 Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 21 | 45 | |
| E 2 Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 6 | 14 | |
| Equality | 5 | 4 | |
| F Food and kitchens | 8 | 5 | |
| G Health, including physical, mental, social care | 67 | 72 | |
| H 1 Property within this establishment | 15 | 25 | |
| H 2 Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 37 | 47 | |
| H 3 Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 18 | 14 | |
| I Sentence management, including home detention curfew, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 39 | 38 | |
| J Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 44 | 29 | |
| K Transfers | 9 | 21 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 10 | 14 |
Recommendations (8)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
4 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board, once again, is concerned at the number of prisoners seen over the reporting year who are seriously mentally unwell and kept in conditions, be it accommodation standards or the regime, which are entirely unsuitable for their care or rehabilitation. The same applies to many of the prisoners with learning or other disabilities. Will the minister undertake a comprehensive review of this?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
When will the minister provide the financial and other resources required for significant improvements to the standard of accommodation at HMP Lewes, such that it can be considered decent?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
As with previous years, the Board urges the Prison Service to introduce measures better to look after prisoners’ property, particularly during the transfer from one prison to another.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 4
The Board would also like to know when further resources will be put into improving safety for prisoners at the establishment, in particular to reduce the ingress and misuse of drugs.
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board urges the Prison Service to ensure that sufficient resources are made to implement the OMiC model successfully.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
The Board encourages the Governor to redouble efforts to improve the accommodation conditions for prisoners, and to ensure that funding from the ‘clean and decent’ project results in cleanliness being a higher priority.
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 7
The Board urges the Governor to ensure that proposed initiatives to improve work opportunities within the prison are implemented successfully.
Governor / Director
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board urges the Governor to review the regime offered, to allow greater hours of unlock for prisoners.
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Lewes
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
9 Jun 2025
Unannounced
5 Feb 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 2
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.