Prison
Cat Category B local, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Lewes
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 10 July 2024
HMP Lewes is a Category B local prison facing significant challenges in safety, healthcare, and infrastructure, despite some positive developments. Self-harm incidents and prisoner-on-prisoner violence have increased substantially, while time out of cell remains limited. Persistent issues with the estate, healthcare staffing, and disproportionality in treatment continue to impact prisoner welfare, necessitating ongoing Board scrutiny and recommendations to the Minister, Prison Service, and Governor.
Positive Findings
The Board welcomes cleaner and tidier residential wings, a 29% decrease in prisoner-on-staff violent incidents, and progress in healthcare access and reduced waiting times. Improvements were also noted in purposeful activity opportunities, education attendance, and the induction process. The IMB commends the compassionate response to deaths in custody, increased violence reduction investigation completions, and efforts to improve CCTV coverage and drug strategy. The chaplaincy provides excellent pastoral care, and the healthcare team received an award for most improved provider.
Key Concerns
Safety
Repeated
When the first night centre (L wing) is full, some newly arrived prisoners are located temporarily on F wing, which generally houses vulnerable prisoners. The Board recognises the growing challenge the establishment faces in accommodating new receptions but is, nonetheless, concerned about this overflow practice.
Safety
There was a 27% increase in self-harm incidents and a 20% increase in the number of ACCTs opened.
Safety
Repeated
During the reporting year, around five prisoners on an open ACCT were held in the CSU each month. The Board recognises that the establishment will document defensible decisions for such cases, indicating other options are considered, but this should happen only exceptionally, nonetheless. The Board considers it inappropriate to use constant supervision cells in the CSU to monitor prisoners at risk of self-harm.
Safety
The Board is concerned to see an increase of 67% in prisoner-on-prisoner violence
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Despite this progress, the older parts of the establishment, where most prisoners are housed, still require improvement. For example, heating and hot water supply problems continue.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
In four separate months, prisoners from an Asian background made up 4% of the prison population yet comprised 15% of those in the CSU. The proportion of Muslim and black/black British prisoners on the basic (lowest) level of the incentives scheme was also, at times, more than double that of the general prison population.
Mental Health
Repeated
The Board has been concerned about long wait times for healthcare, and especially concerned about the level of psychiatry provision.
Safety
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about instances of medication being dispensed through medicine hatches without an officer present: this is a serious breach of safety. It is also concerned about door hatches in the inpatient unit being left open, despite this being a known ligature risk.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the length of time prisoners are locked in their cells. On weekdays, taking into account regime (exercise, domestics, etc), prisoners with purposeful activity would be out of their cells for around five hours a day, so locked in their cells for up to 19 hours: those without purposeful activity do less well. Time out of cell on Fridays and at weekends is even more limited.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The Board welcomes the increase in opportunities for purposeful activity, but notes there are not enough places for all prisoners to be allocated a role.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board is concerned about the level of support for prisoners on remand (unsentenced).
Staffing
Repeated
The Board appreciates measures to increase the number of key working sessions, but the total falls short of what was anticipated when key working was introduced.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Drones dropping illicit items into the prison are a significant problem: on one occasion, 30 drone sightings in a single evening were reported. The prison continues to work with Sussex Police and HMPPS on anti-drone measures. finds of illicit drugs increased from 141 to over 200 items, finds of weapons doubled to 114 items, and finds of mobile phones increased by 60%.
Safety
Some areas of the prison are not covered by CCTV. Where it does exist, a significant number of cameras might not be functioning at any one time, because of delays in repair and maintenance.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing, particularly in healthcare, faces recruitment and retention challenges, with key senior roles lacking permanent appointments, leading to reliance on agency staff. While the prison reports improvements in overall staff recruitment and reduced absence, work is underway to address the non-effective staffing rate. Additionally, the key worker scheme is not operating as originally intended, impacting staff-prisoner engagement.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision, primarily by Practice Plus Group, has seen improvements in leadership and partnership, earning an an award for progress. However, significant challenges persist with staff recruitment and retention, particularly in psychiatry, leading to lengthy waiting times for mental health assessments and hospital transfers. Concerns also remain regarding medication safety breaches (dispensing through hatches without officers) and ligature risks in the inpatient unit, as well as the lack of privacy in telemedicine consultation rooms.
Regime & Daily Life
The daily regime provides limited time out of cell, with prisoners engaged in purposeful activity spending around five hours out on weekdays, and even less at weekends. While opportunities for purposeful activity have increased, there are still insufficient places for the entire population. The induction process has improved, but the continued use of F wing, which houses vulnerable prisoners, as an overflow for new receptions remains a concern for the Board.
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 transfers) | 45 | 38 | |
| Complaints procedure | 30 | 41 | |
| Healthcare | 90 | 114 | |
| Other | 153 | 113 | |
| Property | 51 | 59 | |
| Regime (including purposeful activity) | 77 | 50 | |
| Rule 39 (legal correspondence) | 23 | 19 | |
| Staff behaviour (including adjudications) | 33 | 21 | |
| TOTAL | 502 | 455 |
Recommendations (11)
Ministry of Justice: 5
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 4
7 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the Minister allocate the necessary funds to help upgrade the poor infrastructure at HMP Lewes, and improve living conditions?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Response
The physical environment has improved, but the repair and maintenance programme falls short of what is required, and the state of the infrastructure remains poor.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
How does the Minister plan to work with colleagues across Government to increase the provision of specialist secure mental health services for offenders with serious mental health problems?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
No obvious progress. The proposed Mental Health Bill has not progressed.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the Minister improve access to resettlement and probation services for prisoners held on remand, currently more than half of the prison population at HMP Lewes?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
The Board remains concerned about the level of support locally and nationally for such prisoners.
Recommendation 4
Will the Minister review sentencing guidelines to reduce the number of offenders going to prison and length of sentence, and so help relieve pressure on prison spaces?
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will the Minister reverse last year’s rejection by Government of the House of Commons justice committee’s recommendation that remaining IPP prisoners should be re-sentenced and bring forward legislation to commute IPP sentences to determinate ones?
Ministry of Justice
IPP
Response
Inadequate progress.
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Urgently improve living conditions at HMP Lewes through better repair and maintenance services.
HMPPS
Estate
Response
Overall, the repair and maintenance programme still falls short of what is required.
Recommendation 7
Increase funding to help improve and extend education and skills development at HMP Lewes.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board welcomes the new opportunities for purposeful activity but asks for new steps to increase time out of cell, especially when purposeful activity is not available.
Governor / Director
Regime
Response
The situation has improved, but the Board still considers that the regime is too limited, especially at weekends. See later in this report for details. In spring 2024, the establishment’s senior management team started to review staff profiling arrangements.
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board welcomes improvements in the new prisoner induction process but asks for an end to the practice of using F wing as a first night overspill.
Governor / Director
Safety
Response
The new prison induction process has improved. There has been a considerable increase in new reception prisoners, which the induction wing/first night centre could not always accommodate, so F wing, which houses vulnerable prisoners, continued to be used as a first night centre. The Board sees this as inappropriate.
Recommendation 10
Given the increase in incidents of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and self-harm, the Board asks for extra steps to encourage good behaviour and to improve the management of ACCTs.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 11
The Board asks for new measures to reduce the availability of illicit drugs and alcohol across the prison.
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
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.