Recommendation 1
The Board asks that in the light of the impact of these reductions on Lindholme, can the Minister reassure the Board that greater emphasis on funding for education is given a priority in the coming year?
Source · IMB Annual Report
Lindholme
AI-generated report summary HMP Lindholme, a Category C male training prison with an operational capacity of 1010, faced persistent challenges in safety during the reporting year, including high levels of self-harm, violence, and the ingress of illicit items, alongside five deaths in custody. The Board noted significant concerns regarding poor living conditions, delayed maintenance, and a decline in key worker engagement. Healthcare experienced strains, particularly with mental health transfers and a lack of complaints oversight. Reduced education and activity opportunities, exacerbated by workshop closures, undermined the prison's training function.
Year: 2026
Published: 9 Jun 2026
Type: Prison · Cat C
Population: 1,010
Recommendations: 6
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 5 | — |
| Use of force | 792 | — |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThe Board welcomed improvements in ACCT management, a reduction in extended stays in segregation, and significant progress in substance misuse work, including the introduction of substance-free living wings and a reduction in 'under the influence' incidents. The use of mobile MRI/CT scanning facilities was a positive development. Efforts to tackle illicit items were commended, and the kitchen's food offering was well received. Timeliness of complaints processing was good, and a new complaint collection system was welcomed. The prison also trained 47 problem support mentors, showing positive anecdotal evidence of benefits.
Key concerns
persistent high levels of self-harm, although there was a notable and sustained decline towards the end of the period.
Five deaths in custody occurred, each subject to internal review and ongoing monitoring of associated action plans.
Violence has reduced since peaks in April and September 2025, although still linked to debt, bullying and illicit substances.
The use of force in the prison is broadly reflective of the overall violence profile.
Despite considerable security efforts, the availability of illicit items – including drugs, mobile phones, hooch and weapons – remains a significant challenge, with fluctuations throughout the year.
The main concern about accommodation is the length of time taken to action repairs or general maintenance.
The Board continues to identify concerns regarding decency and living conditions, particularly inconsistent heating, stained and ageing toilets, recurring bedbug infestations, and long-standing failures in wing laundry provision.
The widespread loss of courtesy keys has resulted in many prisoners being unable to secure their cells, increasing the risk of property theft.
The practice of doubling up in single cells continues to raise concerns regarding basic standards of decency.
The Board also noted a significant decline in key worker engagement, with a majority of prisoners reporting no recent contact.
Healthcare provision remains under strain, with the Board observing long waits for some services, notably dentistry, alongside high cancellation and non-attendance rates that adversely affects access to care.
The Board remains concerned about the limited oversight mechanisms for healthcare complaints due to confidentiality barriers.
In mental health, the Board continues to be troubled by cases where prisoners were held in the segregation unit for prolonged periods awaiting gatekeeping assessments, including one case exceeding 280 days. This remains a serious and unacceptable risk.
The reporting year was marked by reduced access to education, exacerbated by frequent class closures and substantial staffing cuts under the Prison Education System (PES) contract.
The long-term closure of workshops, including hangars and the bakery, removed approximately 250 work opportunities, undermining the prison’s ability to function as a training establishment.
Many prisoners continued to receive only part-time work, limiting their ability to complete accredited qualifications.
The offender management unit operated under considerable pressure, with high caseloads, delays in OASys (offender assessment system, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners) completion and low levels of prisoner contact contributing to reduced confidence in sentence progression.
Resettlement planning remained significantly affected by wider estate pressures, resulting in many men remaining at Lindholme until the end of their sentence, rather than transferring to more suitable resettlement establishments.
The Board is concerned at the reduction in effective education funding. The national PES budget reductions have directly reduced staffing and course availability.
The Board continues to be concerned at the impact of the poor management of prisoners’ property, including: • Very high levels of lost property, especially during transfers. • The current national systems for recording, sealing and tracking bags are not robust.
The Board is concerned at the impact of infrastructure defects on the role of HMP Lindholme as a training prison: • Long-term failures to repair workshops, hangars, bakery • This has resulted in a reduction of 250 workspaces. • The infrastructure deficits inhibit Lindholme’s function as a training establishment.
The Board continues to be concerned at the lack of trust that prisoners have in the complaints process
Overall, there is often a lack of visibility of officers interacting with prisoners.
The Board is disappointed at the lack engagement of the key worker system.
Many prisoners complained that their needs were not consistently understood by wing staff, and delays in healthcare responses often prolonged their difficulties. Broken disabled showers and inaccessible equipment were also noted in monitoring visits, and these issues took too long to resolve.
systemic issues – poor equipment, slow repairs, inconsistent staff practice and patchy communication – disproportionately affect particular groups, especially those with disabilities, older prisoners and practising members of minority faiths.
During the year, telephones were removed from all cells and an unintended consequence of this was the inability of prisoners to contact family for support or access the Samaritans if needed.
Over 500 adjudications were adjourned and waiting to be heard by around the middle of 2025. This undermines natural justice and discipline in the prison.
Planned regime curtailment due to staff shortages is almost a daily occurrence. The prison has an agreed rota for reducing the regime on a rotating basis across the residential and functional site so that men are not disadvantaged unfairly. Prisoners are notified in advance of these curtailments. In addition to the planned curtailments, there are unplanned regime curtailments, for example due to incidents or short notice staff sickness, these curtailments are done in a similar way. However overall, these regime curtailments can result in additional time in cell and if one particular day of the week is regularly short staffed, then this group of prisoners will unfairly lose out.
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
The Board asks when will the Prison Service reform the property handling system?
Recommendation 3
The Board asks will the Prison Service urgently allocate increased capital expenditure to improve opportunities for training and rehabilitation work for prisoners?
Recommendation 4
The Board asks, given the uniqueness of the site at Lindholme and the vulnerabilities due to the length of its perimeter, will a more advanced drone detection system be implemented, which would enable the prison to build on the progress made in this area?
Recommendation 5
The Board continues to be concerned at the lack of trust that prisoners have in the complaints process and asks that the prison work with the IMB to allow scrutiny of complaints processes and replies.
Government response
The prison has taken an important step forward by having the complaints boxes emptied by administration staff each day, thus ensuring that complaints reach the clerk daily.
Recommendation 6
The Board asks that further sustained measures be taken to improve the handling of prisoner’s property during internal cell movements.
Government response
The prison reissued instructions to staff regarding completing cell clearance forms promptly.
Related inspections & investigations
Safety 2
· Respect 3
· Activity 1
· Release 1
Stephen Baddeley · Other non-natural
Daniel Bailey · Other non-natural
Michael Dawson · Natural causes
Daniel Akam · Mental Health related deaths; State Custody related deaths; Suicide (from 2015)
Anthony Fraser · State Custody related deaths
Other reports for Lindholme
Population 946
· Self-harm 755
· Concerns
Population 926
· Self-harm 474
· Concerns
Population 926
· Self-harm 269
· Concerns
Population 925
· Self-harm 362
· Concerns
Population 944
· Self-harm 401
· Concerns
Population 984
· Self-harm 602
· Concerns