Safety has been flagged as a serious concern at the Nottinghamshire prison for a second year running
Safety has been flagged as a serious concern at a Nottinghamshire prison for a second year running, following three apparently self-inflicted deaths in three weeks. In an annex to its 2022-3 report, the Independent Monitoring Boards flagged a number of problems at HMP Lowdham Grange, alerting ministers to its concerns following the prison's change of management.
In its annual report, covering the period before the change of management, the board noted that safety at the prison had deteriorated for the second year running, drugs were a continuing problem, a significant number of improvised weapons were discovered, the prison's staff shortages impacted on meaningful activities, and that once prisoners were released directly from HMP Lowdham Grange, there was no specialist rehabilitation and resettlement resources.
“Since assuming responsibility for the prison in February 2023, we have been focused with healthcare, education and probation delivery partners on the daily operation of running the prison and on delivering the changes agreed as part of the new prison contract. A Serco spokesman said: “Managing HMP Lowdham Grange in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic was highly challenging. Additionally, this was the first time that a prison has been transferred from one private company to another and there are no doubt lessons to be learnt from everyone involved.”