HMP Lewes – slow recovery from pandemic restrictions
Inspectors to HMP Lewes, a category B prison in Sussex, were disappointed by a lack of progress in safety, respect, and purposeful activity. The 520 men held in the jail were spending long periods locked up in dirty conditions, with very limited access to work, education, or activity.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:
“This was a disappointing inspection of a prison that had made some good progress at our 2019 independent review of progress (IRP). There is no doubt that pandemic restrictions have hampered the ambitious governor in her work to improve the jail, but nevertheless the recovery was too slow.”
Around half of the population was unemployed, and there were no plans to increase their time out of cell. Not enough activity spaces and an inefficient allocations process made it difficult for prisoners to get into work or education. There was little focus on improving the quality of education, and not enough were successfully completing accredited qualifications. Our colleagues at Ofsted rated the overall effectiveness of education, skills, and work as inadequate.
Vulnerable prisoners at Lewes were not sufficiently cared for. Paperwork for those at risk of suicide and self-harm was often incomplete or inadequate. Violence was still too high and leaders had not developed an effective strategy for analysing and understanding the causes of violent incidents.
The prison was suffering from staffing shortages and poor staff retention, which had slowed progress in improving outcomes for prisoners.
Mr Taylor said:
“Lewes is a difficult prison to staff and run with old buildings that are expensive to maintain, but there needs to be a greater focus on getting some of the basics right. There is the opportunity to build momentum with what could be an effective leadership team to get this prison back on track and make it a better place for prisoners to stay and staff to work.”
Notes to editors
- Read the HMP Lewes report, published on 23 August 2022.
- 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.
- HMP Lewes is a category B local prison for both adult males and young offender males, with the primary function of receiving prisoners from the courts. It holds both remand and sentenced prisoners.
- At the time of this inspection, the prison held 520 prisoners.
- Inspectors identified two examples of notable positive practice during this inspection.
- This inspection took place between 3–4 and 9–13 May 2022.
- Please contact Ed Owen at ed.owen1@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.
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