Observations from Howard League members in Lowdham Grange prison

Lowdham Grange prison was once described as “among the most impressive category B training prisons in the system”. But a recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons reveals that this is now a jail in dire straits, with the lowest possible ratings for safety and respect.

Ahead of the report, we asked our members in Lowdham Grange what they were seeing and experiencing day to day, to deepen our understanding of what is going on inside the prison. This blogpost covers some of the comments that we received.

Staff  

When inspectors visited the prison in March, men living there reported “rude and dismissive behaviour by staff”, that they were “unable to rely on staff, who were poorly supervised and very inexperienced”, and that there were “regular staffing shortfalls, which contributed to frequent regime curtailments”. Our members in the prison told a similar story. 

“35 staff off (due to) sick leave. 17 staff off due to being assaulted. They are drafting staff in from other prisons cause they are really short staffed. They are stopping in hotels as well.” – Darren

“20 members of staff failed to turn up for work … this has resulted in the jail being run on a restricted regime and only 50% of the prison operating, this scenario is what sparked the last riots off.” – Kevin

“The staff here don’t seem to care here about prisoners, [senior officers]  wont come out the office to speak to us. We spent 26 ½ hours in our cells only got half the regime we was meant to. Cold meals while behind doors. Those chips my dog wouldn’t eat. 90% of the jail looks starved everyone is mad skinny and I ain’t had a job since October 2024 so I just been sitting in my cell.” – Joe  

Management 

The transition between private providers Serco and Sodexo was criticised by the inspectors as “mismanaged”, leading to “such a deterioration in outcomes that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) took over the management of the prison”. This fragility was picked up on by our members, who also attested to the comment by the inspectorate that the middle managers were “not providing sufficient visible leadership on residential units”.

“When Serco handed over to Sodexo straight away the prison had staff issues, red regime straight away … Serco only had hold of the jail by their fingertips because of endless phone credit, goody packs, drink packs, clothing parcels, extra cakes … Sodexo stopped everything that was extra … and the prison rioted” – Kevin 

“Management here doesn’t have a clue, majority of officers detached.” – Levi

Drugs    

The inspection report stated that drugs “were a very serious problem”, with the rate of positive random drug tests at 41%. In addition, 56% of surveyed prisoners stated “it was easy to get hold of drugs”, compared to a national average of 32%. In the two years prior to the inspection, four deaths were attributable to problematic drug use. Our members explain the realities behind these statistics.  

“People are using drugs due to being behind the door 23hrs a day” – Darren 

“We are suffering staggeringly high numbers of people nearly dying going code blue from the most potent drugs I have ever seen. People are segged off for their own good to get them off the drugs, they come back looking fresh but their built-up tolerance has gone and they use the same amount they used when last smoking … straight to code blue.” – Kevin 

Violence 

Violence too is rife, with a breakdown of basic safety the core reason for the nationalisation of Lowdham Grange in 2024. Assaults on staff had increased, and while there had been a slight reduction in assaults on people in prison, 40% of those surveyed stated that they currently feel unsafe, double the proportion at the last inspection. Worryingly, our members told us they had seen assaults by staff. 

“I jumped over the railing … I done it because I was assaulted by a officer pushing me and slamming the door on my arm.” – James

“Staff are bad to prisoners I watched security punch the young boy’s face across from me the other night.” – Joe

Mental health 

Health services in Lowdham Grange were deemed “some of the worst health care provision inspectors had seen in recent years”, with “extremely long waits for primary care … leading to very poor outcomes”. Our members echoed these sentiments, with several telling us they wanted to be transferred to Dovegate, a prison in Staffordshire operated by Serco. 

“I feel sorry for all these people doing 30 years here I couldn’t cope.” – Joe 

“I have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks, it took me 3 ½ months to be assessed after I complained to CQC [Care Quality Commission] about lack of mental health services.” – Levi

What next? 

The inspectorate noted that the prison’s main strength was “the quality of accommodation and the general environment”, and that “all prisoners lived in single cells and the prison was not overcrowded”. It further explained that things are slowly improving in multiple areas, with the government committing extra support to bolster these improvements.

We received a final message of hope from a member: 

“HMP Lowdham Grange is to much a valuable cog in our prison system .. we have decent facilities …with really good education facilities… with some really good staff that want to help prisoners” – Kevin

Tim Kerr
Membership Officer

Comments