Source · IMB Annual Report
North Sea Camp
Year: 2025
Published: 20 Aug 2025
Type: Prison · Cat D
Population: 296
Recommendations: 2
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP North Sea Camp is a Category D open prison providing a safe and humane environment with a new Governor making positive regime and community engagement changes. While healthcare and education services receive commendations, significant concerns persist around inadequate accommodation standards, particularly for double rooms and dormitories, and the lack of on-site residential healthcare for complex needs. The Board also highlights issues with delayed Offender Assessment System (OASys) completion by Community Offender Managers and the ongoing lack of progress for IPP prisoners.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 1 | — |
| ACCT cases opened | 17 | — |
| Prisoner assaults | 5 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 1 | — |
| Use of force | 4 | — |
| Drug finds | 15 | — |
Positive findings
The Board is satisfied that HMP North Sea Camp generally provides a safe and humane environment, with a new Governor implementing positive changes to regime and community links. Healthcare services are highly praised by prisoners, and the mental health team is motivated and provides a good range of interventions. Educational opportunities are varied and have seen significant improvements in learner engagement and attendance, preparing prisoners well for release and employment.
Key concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The size of the double rooms in all the main accommodation units is not suitable, in our view, in that it is often impossible to fit a chair or a table, let alone two of each, into a room. The accommodation does not comply with prison service instructions (PSIs) when used by two prisoners.
Healthcare
There is no facility within the prison to treat prisoners suitably for complex medical conditions and during an end-of-life period, as there are no on-site residential healthcare facilities. This results in prisoners with chronic and other serious health issues staying on the units in the prison, surrounded by other prisoners and the usual activities of everyday prison life.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The offender management unit (OMU) continues to encounter problems in getting information from community offender managers (COMs). Although the majority of prisoners now arrive at North Sea Camp with offender assessment (OASys) completed, it has proved difficult for the prison to collect further information, causing delays to ROTL.
Other
Repeated
There continues to be little tangible progress in the plight of IPP prisoners.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The quality of some of the accommodation is poor and the space allocated to prisoners sharing rooms is not ideal. Although it was good to see the decommissioning of the two-storey ageing accommodation units, the Board is concerned that, despite numerous proposals, there still appears to be no progress in replacing them.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Resources should be allocated to convert the dormitories (which consist of 2x3 beds and 2x4 beds) to smaller rooms so that prisoners will not have to share with more than one person.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
There continues to be a problem with prisoners’ property not always arriving in its entirety on completion of a transfer. Prisoners face a long wait for their property, which sometimes contain personal memorabilia and legal documents relating to their situation.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Board recommends that the Governor continues to work with, and support, the IPP community at North Sea Camp and monitor recall rates.
Repeated
Response
We are not standing still on the important issue of progressing those serving ‘Indeterminate sentences for Public Protection’ (IPP) towards a prospective future release. We are working with organisations and campaign groups to ensure appropriate action is taken to support those still serving these sentences, such as improved access to mental health support and rehabilitation programmes. The refreshed IPP Action Plan, published in July 2025, puts renewed emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons and the Probation Service to ensure that those serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans, which they are actively engaging with, and that they are in the prison most appropriate to their needs. The Action Plan now also includes measurable targets to ensure transparency and better track progress. |
Governor / Director | In progress |
| 2 |
The Board recommends that the Governor facilitates working with presumptive recategorisation scheme (PRS) prisoners and minimising the potential detrimental effects on the regime, particularly the challenges brought by the increase in time that a prisoner can spend in the open estate.
Repeated
Response
The OMU [offender management unit] has been tasked with ensuring that suitable prisoners are relocated into North Sea Camp. The Governor recently produced a video to manage prisoners’ transferring expectations. |
Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | 16 | 13 |
| Discipline | 0 | 0 |
| Discrimination | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic | 30 | 25 |
| Education | 3 | 2 |
| Equality | 0 | 0 |
| Facilities | 10 | 8 |
| Financial | 4 | 3 |
| Healthcare | 21 | 18 |
| Legal | 8 | 6 |
| OMU | 35 | 29 |
| Other | 7 | 6 |
| Property | 19 | 15 |
| Reception | 1 | 1 |
| ROTL | 7 | 6 |
| Safeguarding | 0 | 0 |
| Segregation | 0 | 0 |
| Staff | 1 | 1 |
| Transfers | 6 | 5 |
| Violence | 0 | 0 |
| Visits | 10 | 9 |
| Work | 8 | 7 |
Related inspections & investigations
22 May 2023
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 4
· Respect 3
· Activity 3
· Release 3
Other reports for North Sea Camp
Report details
- Establishment
- North Sea Camp
- Type
- Prison · Cat D
- Report year
- 2025
- Published
- 20 August 2025
- Responsible body
- HMP North Sea Camp
- Recommendations
- 2
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 4 — Outstanding
Population
| Population | 296 |
| CNA (designed for) | 300 99% |
| Time out of cell | 18.0h/day |
Service providers
Art Projects
St Barnabas
Catering
Amey
Clothing/Support
HIS Church
Education
Boston College
Facilities Management
Amey
Farm Produce
North Sea Camp Prison Farm
Healthcare
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Substance Misuse
We are with You
Support
Samaritans
Veterans Support
Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA)