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Her Majesty's Prison Lewes is a local category B prison located in Lewes in East Sussex, England. The term local means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Prisoners enter and leave the prison through reception. After reception, they spend their first days in the early days centre (EDC), which occupies L wing. A new operational Governor took responsibility for reception and the EDC in 2025, and the Board recognises how the progress of recent years has been maintained. The health assessment process and management of [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 The Board acknowledges the difficulties in providing and maintaining a decent environment for prisoners and staff alike in an estate that was mostly built in the mid- Victorian era. It welcomes the investment and effort over the year to refurbish and redecorate a substantial proportion of the estate, as well as greater diligence with regard to cleanliness. [...]
Purposeful activity: 7.1.1 Milton Keynes College has provided education services at HMP Lewes since 2023. In October 2025, the prison education framework (PEF) under which it operated was revised to become the prison education service (PES) and the budget was reduced by about 60%. Working hours for tutors were amended and the equivalent of four full-time posts removed. Although the breadth of the curriculum was [...]
Preparation for release: 7.3.1 The prison’s offender management unit (OMU) has continued to operate under sustained pressure driven by legislative change, a persistently high population of remanded prisoners, and increasing complexity in release arrangements. Despite 26 these challenges, the unit benefits from strong leadership and maintains high performance in its core functions. Staffing remained a concern as the [...]
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5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 The Board acknowledges the difficulties in providing and maintaining a decent environment for prisoners and staff alike in an estate that was mostly built in the mid- Victorian era. It welcomes the investment and effort over the year to refurbish and redecorate a substantial proportion of the estate, as well as greater diligence with regard to cleanliness. HM Inspectorate of Prisons said in June 2025 that some cells were in an unsatisfactory condition, and whilst recognising that more needs to be done, the Board’s view is that the prison is in a noticeably better state. 5.1.2 The main gas supply to the prison failed in 2023, and plans are in hand for it to be completely replaced. Until this happens, temporary arrangements are required, and the Board notes measures to improve the effectiveness of these arrangements: the boilers initially installed have been replaced; a single contractor, IBS, has been appointed to maintain these and engineers are more regularly onsite to respond more quickly to faults. Overall, the Board has monitored fewer problems with the heating and hot water, although disgruntlement features consistently in the Board’s interactions with prisoners. At certain times, temperatures on some wings can be too low or high. Faults to the automatic fire vents on F and A wings could also bring down ambient temperatures, as do defective window fittings. 5.1.3 The Lewes assurance multi-skills team (LAMS) continues to make an [...]
7.3.1 The prison’s offender management unit (OMU) has continued to operate under sustained pressure driven by legislative change, a persistently high population of remanded prisoners, and increasing complexity in release arrangements. Despite 26 these challenges, the unit benefits from strong leadership and maintains high performance in its core functions. Staffing remained a concern as the Board’s reporting period ended, with vacancies in administrative posts and morale affected by workload and the additional scrutiny and adverse media coverage around early releases. 7.3.2 Across our reporting period, the proportion of the prison population remanded by the courts was consistently around two-thirds of the total. The implementation of a remand strategy (February 2025) has significantly improved support for these prisoners, amongst other things, providing access to dedicated prisoner offender managers (POMs) and to prerelease planning, subject to needs and priorities. The appointment of two full-time bail officers during the year has augmented such support. 7.3.3 The OMU has faced a substantial increase in workload due to rapid and overlapping changes to recall for standard determinate sentences, home detention curfew (HDC), and the early release scheme for foreign national prisoners. These changes in many cases required retrospective application, adding complexity and administrative burden. The Board commends the OMU’s efforts, particularly following the changes introduced in [...]
4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Prisoners enter and leave the prison through reception. After reception, they spend their first days in the early days centre (EDC), which occupies L wing. A new operational Governor took responsibility for reception and the EDC in 2025, and the Board recognises how the progress of recent years has been maintained. The health assessment process and management of medication for new arrivals have improved. The Board welcomes the appointment by PPG of a new twilight nurse and extra night nurses in reception to help alleviate delays, and also the new healthcare ‘navigator’ role, which helps to support the new prisoner induction process. 4.1.2 The prison’s leaders have raised concerns with the prison service about the pressures faced by reception when prisoners arrive late in the evening. The Board shares these concerns. Such arrivals, often of prisoners remanded from courts beyond HMP Lewes’ main catchment area, can require reception and the EDC to be open late into the night, and at times until the early hours. Parts of the induction process can thus be delayed until the following day. All of this can be tiring and stressful for prisoners and staff, and raises safety concerns. The Board notes the responsible Governor’s efforts to strengthen liaison across the agencies involved, from the courts to the transport provider, and to support better decision-making through improved information management. An additional member of staff has also been [...]
7.1.1 Milton Keynes College has provided education services at HMP Lewes since 2023. In October 2025, the prison education framework (PEF) under which it operated was revised to become the prison education service (PES) and the budget was reduced by about 60%. Working hours for tutors were amended and the equivalent of four full-time posts removed. Although the breadth of the curriculum was retained, the priority placed on English, maths and English as a second language has reduced the overall depth of provision to prisoners. Art classes continue, as does the newsletter group. The in-house records music class is to be reinstated. The Board heard reports that the switch from the PEF to the PES was inevitably difficult and stressful. 7.1.2 A prisoner’s abilities in English and maths are assessed as part of their induction, and the results shape their learning and work personal plan. Somewhere between two thirds and three quarters of Lewes prisoners record low levels of literacy and numeracy, and are likely to be disadvantaged in their engagement with the prison’s operations. The Board was disappointed that at the end of the reporting period the Shannon Trust was not providing its reading programme in the prison to develop literacy. However, the Board is pleased to note that the education service is delivering good progression in English and maths, scoring 8.42% against a target of 3.36%, and placing HMP Lewes second within its comparator group of nine prisons. 7.1.3 Getting [...]
