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UK Category A prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HM Prison Full Sutton is a Category A and B men's prison in the village of Full Sutton, near Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Full Sutton is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and held 572 inmates in March 2024. It is a high security whose main function is to hold adult men, most of whom are deemed to pose significant risk to the public.
The prison also has a Close Supervision Centre, which is referred to as a "prison inside a prison". This is used to house prisoners who are a high risk to the public and national security.
population, including a small number of very risky prisoners. Under a capable governor and a good leadership team the prison was doing a solid job in tests of safety, respect and preparation for release. Our score for purposeful activity had, however, deteriorated to not sufficiently good. The jail was mostly safe and although violence was fairly rare it had increased incapacitant spray, particularly in one very poor example when it was used on a staff who took a lot of trouble with the often very challenging men in their care.
— UK IMB Annual Report (2025) —
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction Healthcare has screening facilities in reception with access to the SystmOne medical database and prisoner NHS records. Prisoners transferring in during the day receive healthcare screening on arrival. When prisoners arrive at Full Sutton in the night state, screening takes place within 24 hours of arrival. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody Prisoners with [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food From the Board’s observation, the standard of accommodation continues to be of a generally good standard, and all prisoners occupy single cells. Overall, the prison is well decorated and clean. Low-risk and some medium risk prisoners from the wings continued to be employed as painters and cleaners on the landings, corridors and in communal areas. This serves not [...]
Purposeful activity: Following a tendering process, the education service provider changed from Milton Keynes College (MKC) to Novus on 1 October. For the first time, the library service, previously provided by East Yorkshire Council, was included within the overall contract with Novus. This change was accompanied by a £132,000, or 25%, reduction in the education budget. Savings were achieved largely through an [...]
Preparation for release: In 2025, the Board again saw evidence of effective interaction between prisoner offender managers (POMs) and prisoners seeking progressive moves to other establishments or specialist treatment units, as well as engagement with sentence plans and support for periodic category reviews. We observed safety intervention meetings (SIMs), segregation review board, and IPP review meetings at which POMs [...]
Visiting
and would benefit from opportunities to visit other prisons to broaden their
Mailing
prisoners’ needs and developing the provision. It was astonishing that she still
Practical info
tests of safety, respect and preparation for release. Our score for purposeful The regime, however, was disappointingly limited, particularly when the unit A new Head of Education, Skills and Work had been appointed in autumn 2023 A number of workshops had been closed to create a new wood workshop, but often struggled to persuade officers to unlock their mentees which meant there there was often regime slippage with men being unlocked late, and there were new regime, due to begin in June 2024, needed to be revised to make sure that prisoners were in full-time work, education or training. peer worker jobs available, prisoners were an underused resource in devising
Known issues
The jail was mostly safe and although violence was fairly rare it had increased disabled man. On the segregation unit, we were impressed with the quality of
Dennis Andrew Nilsen (23 November 1945 â 12 May 2018) was a Scottish serial killer and necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983.
Steven John Grieveson (born 14 December 1970) is a British serial killer known as the Sunderland Strangler, who murdered four teenage boys in a series of killings committed between 1990 and 1994 in Sunderland, England.
Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
HMP Full Sutton Moor Lane Full Sutton York YO41 1PS See map, York YO41 1PS
Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Capacity (beds)this: 608 · peers avg: 572 (+6%)
Reports
NPM-uk-imb-preparation-for-release1 Jan 2025
In 2025, the Board again saw evidence of effective interaction between prisoner offender managers (POMs) and prisoners seeking progressive moves to other establishments or specialist treatment units, as well as engagement with sentence plans and support for periodic category reviews. We observed safety intervention meetings (SIMs), segregation review board, and IPP review meetings at which POMs were fully engaged in supporting prisoners’ progression, or in explaining clearly where this was not possible. Towards the end of 2025, no new Kaizen or Identity Matters (IM) treatment programmes started for prisoners due to the phasing out of the existing suite of programmes and staff training for the facilitation of courses from the new Building Choices suite of programmes, which commenced in August. Accredited intervention programmes were delivered, with a total of 28 prisoners starting programmes and 14 completing them by the end of 2025. Building Choices programmes for PCoSOs (prisoners convicted of sexual offences) initially commenced, but further courses for this cohort were paused until 2026. This pause was pending the completion of additional staff training to strengthen understanding of effective practice in supporting PCoSOs with risk reduction, in line with HMIP recommendations made in 2019 for establishments delivering accredited programmes for this cohort. Psychological support for staff in high pressure areas, specifically the segregation unit, STEP unit, CSC and [...]
4.1 Reception and induction Healthcare has screening facilities in reception with access to the SystmOne medical database and prisoner NHS records. Prisoners transferring in during the day receive healthcare screening on arrival. When prisoners arrive at Full Sutton in the night state, screening takes place within 24 hours of arrival. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody Prisoners with complex needs and those who present a risk, because of vulnerability or violent behaviour, continue to be reviewed at weekly multidisciplinary safety intervention meetings (SIMs), led by the Governor responsible for safety. The IMB monitored many of these meetings and we saw thorough discussions of these prisoners’ needs. The meetings are attended by representatives from safer custody, equality and diversity, mental health, primary care, psychology, wing custodial managers, residential and segregation governors, offender managers, the neurodiversity support manager, security and chaplaincy. The meeting reviews prisoners with particularly complex needs whose behaviour may be causing concern, prisoners on challenge, support and intervention plans (CSIPs), which are used to manage those who pose an increased risk of violence, and prisoners subject to assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) procedures, due to self-harm and suicide concerns. It also reviews prisoners of concern in the segregation unit, transgender prisoners, young adults aged 18 to 25, and any violent incidents that [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food From the Board’s observation, the standard of accommodation continues to be of a generally good standard, and all prisoners occupy single cells. Overall, the prison is well decorated and clean. Low-risk and some medium risk prisoners from the wings continued to be employed as painters and cleaners on the landings, corridors and in communal areas. This serves not only to widen the scope for employment opportunities on wings, but is also effective in ensuring a decent standard of cleanliness. A concerted effort has been made to find a solution to the problem of black mould on the walls and ceilings in some of the corridors and approaches to wings. A trial solution with trace heating has been installed on the approach to C wing, which has improved the position significantly, but the approach to B wing and other areas is still a growing problem and needs to be addressed. The Board would like to see funds allocated to rolling out of this solution to other areas, as it is both unsightly and a potential health hazard. The prison has again resorted extensively to self-help solutions using volunteer staff on rest days to repair or renew cell flooring and flooring in other areas, as the maintenance contractor does not have the capacity to carry out this work. A number of wing shower recesses are in a poor condition and require refurbishment. One such recess, on D wing, was successfully refurbished in late 2025, with improvements to the steam [...]
Following a tendering process, the education service provider changed from Milton Keynes College (MKC) to Novus on 1 October. For the first time, the library service, previously provided by East Yorkshire Council, was included within the overall contract with Novus. This change was accompanied by a £132,000, or 25%, reduction in the education budget. Savings were achieved largely through an overall reduction in staff hours, the introduction of shorter courses and more non-accredited courses, and a significantly reduced level of educational provision in the CSC, separation centre, and STEP unit, where there is now no structured education offer. Almost 25% of prisoners engaged in some form of education in 2025, an increase from 21% in 2024. In total, prisoners started 749 accredited courses in 2025, a 4% increase on 2024, and 275 non-accredited courses, representing a 63% increase, with some prisoners undertaking more than one course. There were 574 successful accredited course achievements and 241 successful non-accredited course completions. Accredited courses in English, Maths, business, industrial cleaning and catering ran up to the end of September, together with a non-accredited course in art. From October, these courses and a new general studies course (non-accredited) was added. A planned mentoring course did not run in 2025, but there are plans for this to resume in 2026. The general studies course was well received and well attended by prisoners. It comprises a [...]
Full Sutton is a men’s category A prison in Yorkshire that holds a long-term
population, including a small number of very risky prisoners. Under a capable
governor and a good leadership team the prison was doing a solid job in
performing its main functions to protect the public and reduce prisoners’ levels
of risk. This was reflected in our reasonably good scores for the healthy prison
tests of safety, respect and preparation for release. Our score for purposeful
activity had, however, deteriorated to not sufficiently good.
The jail was mostly safe and although violence was fairly rare it had increased
since our last inspection, as had the use of force, the scrutiny of which was not
good enough. We found that the prison could not always justify the use of PAVA
incapacitant spray, particularly in one very poor example when it was used on a
disabled man. On the segregation unit, we were impressed with the quality of
staff who took a lot of trouble with the often very challenging men in their care.
The regime, however, was disappointingly limited, particularly when the unit
was full, when some men could go for up to three days without a shower or
access to the outside.
A new Head of Education, Skills and Work had been appointed in autumn 2023
and was beginning to make some noticeable improvements in assessing
prisoners’ needs and developing the provision. It was astonishing that she still
had not been given direct access to HMPPS sources of data such as the
CURIOUS database which covers prisoners’ initial assessments, participation
and achievement in courses.
A number of workshops had been closed to create a new wood workshop, but
the prison service had taken far too long to complete this project which meant
that many prisoners did not have full-time activities. Given this situation, it was
very disappointing to find that many classrooms did not have their full quota of
prisoners allocated. With high levels of need in the jail, there were not enough
spaces in English and Maths, but it was good to see that the reading strategy
had started to become embedded. Shannon Trust mentors told me that they
often struggled to persuade officers to unlock their mentees which meant there
were not as many reading sessions as we would have expected.
On the wings, too many prisoners were locked behind their doors during the day
despite there being lots of officers available. Prisoners and staff told us that
there was often regime slippage with men being unlocked late, and there were
frequent planned lockdowns on some evenings and weekends. While this
arrangement had started when there were staffing shortages, it was no longer
necessary now that there was much improved recruitment and retention. The
new regime, due to begin in June 2024, needed to be revised to make sure that
prisoners were in full-time work, education or training.
Middle leadership was a strength at Full Sutton with both staff and prisoners
telling us how much they valued the support of some excellent supervising
officers and custodial managers. Many staff had been at the jail for a long time
and would benefit from opportunities to visit other prisons to broaden their
perspective and expand their experience.
Although there was consultation with prisoners, both they and junior staff told us
that their ideas were often dismissed without the opportunity to put them into
practice. This may have contributed to the sense of frustration among many of
the prisoners we met. Although there were some fairly standard mentoring and
peer worker jobs available, prisoners were an underused resource in devising
ways to improve the jail.
There was a lot to like about Full Sutton. Staff-prisoner relationships were
generally good, and many officers were capable and experienced. With the
ongoing stability at the prison there is the opportunity to be more creative in
In 2024, the Board has, again, seen evidence of extensive prisoner offender manager (POM) interactions with prisoners who want to make progressive moves to other establishments to engage with their sentence plans or to specialist treatment units, as well as supporting periodic category reviews. There was an improvement in regard to qualified psychologists and programmes facilitators in 2024, with only two vacancies at the end of the year. This allowed the psychology and programmes team to deliver programmes and undertake interventions in all areas, including small units. This was an improvement on the position in 2023, where the availability of face-to-face consultancy time was more limited. The reduction in wing lockdowns in the core week was important in this. Psychological support for staff in high 23 pressure areas, specifically the segregation unit, STEP unit, CSC and SC, was provided regularly. A total of 28 prisoners started programmes, 25 of whom had completed them by the end of 2024. Towards the end of 2024, no new Kaizen or Identity Matters treatment programmes were being started for prisoners. This was because the courses were being phased out by HM Prison and probation Service (HMPPS), prior to the introduction of a new suite of treatment programmes, ‘Building Choices’, in the second half of 2025. This will result in delays for some prisoners in their expected starts to programmes. There were 21 IPP prisoners at Full Sutton at the end of 2024, the majority of [...]
4.1 Reception and induction The Board was concerned in 2023 that healthcare screening did not systematically happen in reception. During 2024, the healthcare screening facilities in reception were improved, with access to the SystmOne medical database and prisoner NHS records again available to healthcare staff, who now routinely screen prisoners on arrival. Reception staff now advise the healthcare unit of upcoming arrivals in order to schedule screening. When prisoners arrive at Full Sutton in the night state, screening takes place within 24 hours of arrival. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody Prisoners with complex needs and those who present a risk, because of vulnerability or violent behaviour, are regularly reviewed. Complex needs/safety intervention meetings are held weekly, led by the Governor responsible for safety. The meetings are multi- disciplinary and attended by representatives from the safer custody team, equality team, mental health, primary care, psychology, wing custodial managers, residential and segregation governors, offender managers, the neurodiversity support manager, security and chaplaincy. The IMB monitors most of these meetings. The meeting reviews prisoners with particularly complex needs whose behaviour may be causing concern, prisoners on challenge, support and intervention plans (CSIPs), which are used to manage those who pose an increased risk of violence, and prisoners subject to assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food From the Board’s observation, the standard of accommodation is generally good, and all prisoners occupy single cells. Overall, the prison is well decorated and clean. Low-risk prisoners from the wings are employed as painters and cleaners on the landings, corridors and in communal areas. This serves not only to provide employment, but is also effective in ensuring a decent standard of cleanliness. In order to provide extra opportunities for employment, the prison began to employ a number of medium-risk prisoners in wing roles in the second half of the year. (See also 7.2) There were a large number of prison cell floors requiring repair at the start of 2024. As the maintenance contractor was not in a position to carry out all of the required work, a ‘self- help’ team of staff carried out repairs to flooring in around 100 cells, in addition to the very limited number of such repairs undertaken by the maintenance contractor. Therefore, whilst there is a significant number of cell floors still requiring attention, the position is much improved over last year. Additionally, there are some shower recess areas in poor condition. The Board will continue to monitor this position in 2025. There are areas of black mould growth on the approach to some wings, which have unsuccessfully been repainted several times in an effort to eliminate the problem. In-cell telephony, which was introduced at the end of 2023 to all cells, has been a success and a major [...]
In 2024, Milton Keynes College provided courses in English, maths, business, industrial cleaning, catering, art and design, personal and social development skills (PSD) and mentoring in a college environment. The education contract period was extended by six months and the next tender award is due in October 2025. The Board will monitor this and hopes there will be no adverse outcomes for prisoners as a result. On average, 108 prisoners per day were allocated an education place, 21% of the relevant prisoner population (those who were eligible). Average attendance was 68%. Prisoners started 722 accredited courses in 2024 and 169 unaccredited courses (with some individuals taking more than one course), with 684 successful accredited course achievements and 105 successful unaccredited course completions. The IMB witnessed good engagement with tutors in the College, who held learners’ interest in class, and also class support work carried out by prisoner mentors with their peers. There was significant disruption to the provision of English classes this year, due to staff retention problems and difficulties in recruiting replacements. This left the subject unable to be taught for several months and impacted on places available to prisoners. As a result, only 55% of planned English classes were delivered in 2024. During the reporting period, the prison allocations team took responsibility for maintaining lists of prisoners wanting to join workshops and classes, and these were [...]
