Source · IMB Annual Report
Ranby
Year: 2026
Published: 26 Jun 2026
Type: Prison · Cat C training prison
Recommendations: 12
Key concerns
Positive findings
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.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 5 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 522 | — |
| ACCT cases opened | 233 | — |
| Prisoner assaults | 268 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 100 | — |
Positive findings
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.
Key concerns
Estate/Conditions
The building of much needed new house blocks has been rescheduled despite significant overcrowding and infrastructure being in place.
Mental Health
Repeated
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.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Unavailability of sufficient meaningful education and work courses prevents prisoners from meeting their sentence plans and preparing for release.
Overcrowding
Repeated
The prison remains seriously overcrowded, with the practice of doubling up cells designed for one continuing, causing tension and management difficulties.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The high churn of prisoners with short sentences continues to impede Ranby's role as a training prison and hinders effective resettlement and progression.
Staffing
Repeated
The proportion of inexperienced staff, who lack the necessary skills and empathy to deal with vulnerable or challenging prisoners, has continued to rise.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
The ingress and use of illicit drugs and contraband remain high, undermining safety and efforts to reduce reoffending.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Problems with prisoners' canteen, including incorrect deliveries and unwarranted delays in refunds, continue to negatively impact prisoner morale.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Frequent loss of prisoner property during transfers between establishments and difficulties in claiming compensation continue to cause significant distress, frustration, and disciplinary issues.
Safety
Problems regarding role reconciliation indicate that the process for consistently accounting for all individuals is not robust enough.
Complaints/Property
Complaint forms, IMB complaint forms, and IPCI ombudsman forms have not been consistently available on house blocks, despite being raised with wing Governors and the Governor.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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? | Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 | 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? Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 | Unavailability of courses can sometimes mean prisoners are unable to meet their sentence plan. How will the Minister address this problem? Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 4 | 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? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 5 | 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? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 6 | 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? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 7 | The level of illegal substances in the prison has remained high. What measures will the Prison Service take to tackle this situation? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 8 | 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? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 9 | 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? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 10 | 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. | Governor / Director | |
| 11 | 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? | Governor / Director | |
| 12 | 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? | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Related inspections & investigations
Other reports for Ranby
Report details
- Establishment
- Ranby
- Type
- Prison · Cat C training prison
- Report year
- 2026
- Published
- 26 June 2026
- Responsible body
- HMP Ranby
- Recommendations
- 12
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 3 — Good
Population
| Operational capacity | 1,123 |
| CNA (designed for) | 835 |
Service providers
Library
Suffolk Libraries (subcontracted by People Plus)