Prison
Cat Women's Closed / YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Low Newton
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 3 July 2025
HMP/YOI Low Newton is a women's closed prison that has seen improvements in culture and regime under new leadership. While safety is prioritised, challenges remain with a high number of self-harm incidents and significant mental health needs among the population, often leading to the prison acting as a place of safety. Efforts are being made in purposeful activity, resettlement, and healthcare, with strong staff dedication noted.
Positive Findings
HMP/YOI Low Newton provides a reasonably safe and humane environment, with clean accommodation and recent improvements such as carpets, curtains, and modesty boards. Relationships between staff and prisoners are generally constructive, and there have been marked improvements in transport services. Healthcare staff retention is high, and patient feedback is largely positive, with specific services like palliative care and menopause clinics noted as beneficial. Purposeful activity is varied, with education and vocational training supporting resettlement, highlighted by success stories like Koestler Awards and personal training leading to employment. The resettlement process, involving multi-agency collaboration and NEPACS support, is considered comprehensive and effective in many cases, alongside flourishing family contact initiatives such as Storybook Mums.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
For some years, the IMB at HMP/YOI Low Newton has raised the issue of women presenting with severe mental ill health and challenging behaviour. Given the disruption this creates, the resources required to manage them and the toll this takes on everyone around them, when can we expect that they will be re-directed to a more suitable environment, where assessment and treatment can be provided before they experience further deterioration?
Safety
The number of prisoners who are self-harming has increased substantially year-on-year. The Board would like to see this trend reversed.
Safety
Whilst significant progress has been made on capturing incidents of use of force and violent assaults, it needs to record each and every one.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board is still concerned about short sentences preventing meaningful work being done with some prisoners.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Although it appears that accommodation on release is slightly easier to find this year and resettlement boards work towards every prisoner having accommodation, it is still the case that some are released without accommodation and are often recalled.
Mental Health
Some prisoners still require a move to a mental health bed in the community and waiting times for such a place have been lengthy.
Staffing
It is of concern to the Board that two of the staff may not have the funding for their role to be extended beyond March 2025.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP/YOI Low Newton has seen significant changes in its senior management team. Healthcare staff retention is commendably high at 97%, although there are some vacancies for nurses and support workers which are managed using bank staff. Staff across the prison are praised for their resilience and dedication, particularly those managing prisoners with complex needs and in the CSU. While lockdowns due to staff shortages are less frequent, concerns exist among some prisoners that an excessive amount of staff time is dedicated to supporting severely ill individuals. Additionally, there is uncertainty regarding the continued funding for two NEPACS staff members providing crucial resettlement support.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision at HMP/YOI Low Newton is generally well-regarded, with high staff retention and 90% positive patient feedback from a recent survey. Services such as palliative care, menopause clinics, and the Buvidal roll-out are highlighted as positive initiatives, and there are no significant concerns regarding waiting times for GP, dental, or optician appointments. However, the Board remains concerned by the significant number of prisoners with severe mental health needs, leading to the prison frequently acting as a place of safety. Waiting times for community mental health transfers are lengthy, and there are worries about community resources for women released with complex mental health issues.
Regime & Daily Life
HMP/YOI Low Newton has introduced a structured programme of social and evening activities designed to promote rehabilitation and wellbeing, which is being further developed. The modular units remain popular, offering greater autonomy for low-risk women, and the outdoor environment is well utilised. The incentivised regime is deemed effective in encouraging positive behaviour, offering improved accommodation and increased association time. While there have been fewer lockdowns this year, they still pose a risk to relationship building and prisoners' mental health.
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 | 4 | 2 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 0 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 0 | 3 | |
| Equality | 2 | 2 | — |
| Finance including pay, private monies, spends | 2 | 4 | |
| Food and kitchens | 5 | 6 | |
| Health, including physical, mental and social care | 9 | 10 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 3 | 6 | |
| Miscellaneous | 0 | 9 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 0 | 1 | |
| Property within the establishment | 3 | 5 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 4 | 0 | |
| Sentence Management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 1 | 6 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 11 | 10 | |
| Transfers | 1 | 1 | — |
Recommendations (3)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 1
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
For some years, the IMB at HMP/YOI Low Newton has raised the issue of women presenting with severe mental ill health and challenging behaviour. Given the disruption this creates, the resources required to manage them and the toll this takes on everyone around them, when can we expect that they will be re-directed to a more suitable environment, where assessment and treatment can be provided before they experience further deterioration?
Other
(minister)
Mental Health
Response
Liaison and diversion services provide a report to the court so that officials can make informed sentencing decisions. The MoJ is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to introduce a Mental Health Bill. (Progress: There has been an improvement in staffing in healthcare team, which is working to implement the recommendations of the National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review.)
Recommendation 2
Repeated
For over two years, the IMB at HMP/YOI Low Newton has closely monitored transport of women into the prison. Since December 2024 and the appointment of a new Operations Governor, who was prepared to follow up on the Board’s concerns, we have seen a marked improvement in how and when women are transported and in what condition. This has taken a sustained focus on the part of the staff and IMB members. Can we now expect that the improved level of service will continue and that women will be transported in decent and humane conditions?
HMPPS
Fair Treatment
Response
There has been an overall improvement in monitoring performance. Use of hybrid vehicles allows for greater flexibility. (Progress: The prison has been monitoring late arrivals and ensure provision for women who arrive late, including health screening.)
Recommendation 3
The last year has seen some welcome and necessary changes to the culture and regime in the prison. Now that the senior management team is entering a period of reflection and evaluation, will the Board be kept updated about areas of success and those areas where further work is needed?
Governor / Director
Prison Management
Other IMB Reports for Low Newton
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.