Independent Monitoring Boards annual report

Ranby

Report year 2026 Published 26 Jun 2026 Type Prison, category C training prison Responsible body HMP Ranby 12 recommendations

The summary and positive findings below were written from the report by an AI model. The Board's own wording is in the report linked above.

Summary

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)
HMP Ranby, a Category C training prison, continues to face significant challenges with overcrowding, high levels of illicit drugs, and the inappropriate holding of mentally unwell prisoners in segregation due to transfer delays. While the Board commended staff professionalism and improvements in the complaints system, concerns remain regarding staff shortages, inexperience, and a lack of meaningful activity for prisoners. Property loss and canteen issues also persist, highlighting systemic problems impacting prisoner welfare and morale.

Positive findings

Summary written by this site (AI-generated)
The Board commended staff professionalism and care in challenging situations, noting that prisoners are generally treated fairly and humanely. Improvements in bedbug eradication were observed towards the end of the year. The Care after Combat initiative and the substance-free living environment on House Block 4 were praised. A new full-time working regime has received positive feedback from prisoners, and the complaints department has seen significant improvement. The library is well-used and popular, and staff in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit were noted for their dedication and professionalism.

Recommendations

All 12 recommendations

Key concerns

All 11 key concerns

Recommendations 12 items · 8 repeated

Recommendations were extracted from the report by AI, and responses and their status from the ministerial response by AI. Each recommendation shows whether its wording has been checked against the report.

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Estate

Recommendation (the Board's words)
Could the Minister tell us why, when the prisons are in serious need of extra accommodation, the building of much needed house blocks is being rescheduled, especially as much of the infrastructure is in place?

Source text verified

Recommendation 2

Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
We advised the Minister in our report last year that prisoners have been constantly located in the CSU due to their complex and challenging behaviour and mental health issues. Why has the situation remained unchanged since our last report?

Source text verified

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Ministry of Justice · Topic: Education · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
Unavailability of courses can sometimes mean prisoners are unable to meet their sentence plan. How will the Minister address this problem?

Source text verified

Recommendation 4

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The prison continues to be seriously overcrowded. We ask once again what steps will the Prison Service take to effectively manage the operational capacity of the prison?

Source text verified

Recommendation 5

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Resettlement · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The churn of prisoners with a short time to serve on their sentences continues to be a problem for Ranby as a training prison with a rehabilitative ethos. This situation continues to cause issues with resettlement and progression. We ask again what will the Prison Service do to address this problem?

Source text verified

Recommendation 6

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Staffing · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
Once again, we note that the proportion of inexperienced staff has continued to rise. How does the Prison Service plan to improve the training of inexperienced staff?

Source text verified

Recommendation 7

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Substance Misuse · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The level of illegal substances in the prison has remained high. What measures will the Prison Service take to tackle this situation?

Source text verified

Recommendation 8

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Regime · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
As highlighted in last year’s report, the problem with prisoners’ canteen continues. Although the prison has worked with suppliers to try to address the issue, there have still been too many instances reported to the Board regarding canteen items not being delivered in accordance with what has been ordered. The delays in refunds being issued have an adverse effect on the attitude and morale of the prisoners. It is apparent that the delay in many instances is unwarranted and is still a cause for concern, which can only be rectified by much better contract management at a higher level, in the Board’s view. How will the Prison Service improve the situation?

Source text verified

Recommendation 9

Addressee: HMPPS · Topic: Regime · Repeated from a previous year

Recommendation (the Board's words)
One of the biggest issues raised by prisoners is the loss of property. Belongings often seem to go missing during transfers from other establishments, resulting in a long wait for prisoners to be reunited with their property or, in some cases, the property is never ever located. Prisoners become unhappy and frustrated with the system. When property is finally deemed as lost, it would appear prisoners have difficulty in claiming compensation. How does the Prison Service plan to resolve this problem?

Source text verified

Recommendation 10

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Purposeful Activity

Recommendation (the Board's words)
During the reporting year the attendance of prisoners going to work has increased from an average of 60% in 2024/2025 to 70% in 2025/2026. Although attendance at purposeful activity has increased by 10% (to 70%) in this reporting year, the Board still has concerns that 30% of prisoners are not attending.

Source text verified

Recommendation 11

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Safety

Recommendation (the Board's words)
The Board has been aware that there have problems regarding role reconciliation (ensuring that all individuals are consistently accounted for). This would indicate that the reconciliation process is still not robust enough. Could the Governor explain how the prison management is intending to rectify the situation?

Source text verified

Recommendation 12

Addressee: Governor / Director · Topic: Complaints

Recommendation (the Board's words)
During the reporting year, prisoners have informed the Board that complaint forms, IMB complaint forms and Independent Prison Complaint Investigation (IPCI) ombudsman forms have not been available on the house blocks. We have brought this matter up with the wing Governors on several occasions and also with the Governor at our Board meetings, but little appears to have been done to rectify the problem. We would expect the IPCI forms to be readily available in their own area and not in the IMB boxes. Could the Governor explain what will be done to rectify the situation?

Source text verified

Key concerns 11 items

Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.

Key concern 1

Estate/Conditions

The Board has since been advised that the build has been rescheduled but is on track to open in April 2027. Could the Minister tell us why, when the prisons are in serious need of extra accommodation, the building of much needed house blocks is being rescheduled, especially as much of the infrastructure is in place?

Key concern 2

Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year

Prisoners with complex and challenging behaviour and mental health issues are constantly located in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) due to long waits for transfer to appropriate mental health facilities.

Key concern 3

Education/Purposeful Activity · Repeated from a previous year

Unavailability of courses can sometimes mean prisoners are unable to meet their sentence plan.

Key concern 4

Overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year

The prison remains seriously overcrowded, with the practice of doubling up cells designed for one continuing, causing tension and management difficulties.

Source wording under review

Key concern 5

Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year

The churn of prisoners with a short time to serve on their sentences continues to be a problem for Ranby as a training prison with a rehabilitative ethos. This situation continues to cause issues with resettlement and progression.

Key concern 6

Staffing · Repeated from a previous year

This situation has continued into the reporting period and has been exacerbated by officers joining the Prison Service, undergoing training then, on taking up their full-time job in the prison, finding that the role is not for them for a variety of reasons. The Board believes that many younger officers being recruited do not possess the skills necessary to deal with vulnerable prisoners or those with challenging behaviour. Prisoners have repeatedly reported to the Board that these young members of staff do not have the empathy or experience when dealing with men who come to them with problems.

Key concern 7

Substance Misuse · Repeated from a previous year

The ingress and use of illicit drugs and contraband remain high, undermining safety and efforts to reduce reoffending.

Key concern 8

Complaints/Property · Repeated from a previous year

Problems with prisoners' canteen, including incorrect deliveries and unwarranted delays in refunds, continue to negatively impact prisoner morale.

Source wording under review

Key concern 9

Regime/Time Out of Cell · Repeated from a previous year

One of the biggest issues raised by prisoners is the loss of property. Belongings often seem to go missing during transfers from other establishments, resulting in a long wait for prisoners to be reunited with their property or, in some cases, the property is never ever located. Prisoners become unhappy and frustrated with the system. When property is finally deemed as lost, it would appear prisoners have difficulty in claiming compensation.

Key concern 10

Safety

The Board has been aware that there have problems regarding role reconciliation (ensuring that all individuals are consistently accounted for). This would indicate that the reconciliation process is still not robust enough.

Key concern 11

Complaints/Property

During the reporting year, prisoners have informed the Board that complaint forms, IMB complaint forms and Independent Prison Complaint Investigation (IPCI) ombudsman forms have not been available on the house blocks. We have brought this matter up with the wing Governors on several occasions and also with the Governor at our Board meetings, but little appears to have been done to rectify the problem. We would expect the IPCI forms to be readily available in their own area and not in the IMB boxes.

Safety statistics

Incidents during the reporting year.

IndicatorThis yearPrevious
Deaths in custody5not recorded
Self-harm incidents522not recorded
ACCT cases opened233not recorded
Prisoner assaults268not recorded
Assaults on staff100not recorded

Population

Operational capacity1,123
CNA (designed for)835

Applications to the IMB

CategoryCurrentPrevious
Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions 14 14
Canteen, facility list, catalogues 13 12
Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions 5 4
Equality 3 3
Finance, including pay, private monies, spends 8 12
Food and kitchens 0 0
Health, including physical, mental, social care 41 46
Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions 6 8
Miscellaneous 0 0
Property during transfer or in another facility 33 39
Property within the establishment 16 16
Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell 12 13
Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation 24 30
Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying 24 54
Transfers 7 9

Report details

Establishment
Ranby
Type
Prison, category C training prison
Report year
2026
Published
26 June 2026
Responsible body
HMP Ranby
Recommendations
12
MoJ rating (2025/26)
2, Concern

Service providers

ServiceProvider
LibrarySuffolk Libraries (subcontracted by People Plus)

Related inspections and investigations

HMIP inspection, 20 Oct 2025

IRP

HMIP inspection, 10 Feb 2025

Unannounced · Safety 2 · Respect 2 · Activity 2 · Release 2

HMIP inspection, 3 Jan 2023

IRP

HMIP inspection, 4 Apr 2022

Unannounced

Mark Beresford

Prevention of future deaths report · 25 Oct 2024 · State Custody related deaths | Mental Health related deaths

Steven May

Prevention of future deaths report · 16 Mar 2016 · State Custody related deaths

Other reports for Ranby

2025

Published 6 Aug 2025 · Self-harm 533 · Key concerns recorded

2024

Published 5 Jul 2024 · Self-harm 747 · Key concerns recorded

2023

Published 25 Aug 2023 · Self-harm 425 · Key concerns recorded

2022

Published 4 Aug 2022 · Self-harm 258 · Key concerns recorded

2021

Published 29 Nov 2021 · Population 1,092 · Self-harm 336 · Key concerns recorded

2020

Published 21 Sep 2020 · Population 1,092 · Self-harm 624 · Key concerns recorded