'Considerable improvements' at troubled prison

A troubled prison in Nottinghamshire has seen "considerable improvements" in the past year, inspectors have said.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) visited HMP Lowdham Grange in May 2026 to carry out an independent review of progress (IRP) after serious failures were identified at a previous visit.

It found the Category B jail "was noticeable more ordered", with the supply of illicit drugs and positive drug tests dropping, but also noted self-harm rates and the use of force had increased, and said "longstanding problems" still needed to be solved.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which has been running the prison since December 2023, said inspectors recognised Lowdham Grange "is making progress".

Concerns over conditions at Lowdham Grange have been raised for a number of years, with seven prevention of future deaths reports issued following inquests into inmates who died.

The MoJ took over running the jail - initially on a temporary basis - at the end of 2023, which came less than a year after the first direct transfer of a prison between private providers in England and Wales.

HMIP said its 2025 inspection found failings "were so bad that serious consideration was given to invoking the urgent notification process".

However, the IRP found several aspects of the prison had improved, citing changes made to prevent the supply of drugs and better management of the jail's segregation unit.

Lowdham Grange is "now fully staffed" and "no longer reliant on short-term detached duty staff", inspectors said, with better support from senior members for inexperienced prison officers.

HMIP highlighted a 79% increase in the use of force, with PAVA spray - an incapacitant similar to pepper spray - used 60 times in 12 months, which it said was nearly three times the figure for the previous period.

"Insufficient progress" had been made on governance and oversight of incidents involving the use of force, and inspectors said bodyworn cameras "were not always activated early enough", meaning a quarter of cases "remained unrecorded".

Self-harm incidents "had increased by 50%", the report said, with serious cases needing hospital treatment rising from 46 to 94, while "gaps in documentation" for reviews of vulnerable patients were still seen as an issue.

Drones coming to the prison "remained a problem", but HMIP said wire to prevent incursions was due to be installed, and noted better sharing of information with police and other prisons and an expanded search team and security staffing.

Healthcare at the jail was also praised, with the Practice Plus Group and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation - which took over from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last year - said to have "provided robust leadership" and "much better governance".

Despite several improvements, overall HMIP said more work still needed to be done.

"The serious and longstanding problems facing Lowdham Grange will take some time yet to be fully resolved, but the building blocks for progress [are] now fully established," the report said.

"While there is considerable distance still to travel to ensure good outcomes for prisoners, we left with some confidence in the prison's positive progress toward improvement."

Following the report's release, the MoJ said: "We have invested over £40m in physical security across the prison estate, and here this has helped cut drug use while better staffing and retention have created a safer environment.

"We are working hard to ensure use of force is applied proportionately and will continue to improve mental health support to bring self-harm rates down."

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