The prison was given a full inspection in March 2024, the full report can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest report the inspectors said:
HMP Full Sutton is a high-security category A dispersal prison for adult men in East Yorkshire, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 572 prisoners against a certified normal capacity of 659, a quarter of them category A. Inspectors rated respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release all Reasonably Good, unchanged, while safety declined to Reasonably Good from Good at the previous inspection in 2020, describing an otherwise calm and well-ordered prison despite a complex, high-risk population.
Self-harm levels were broadly similar to the last inspection period and lower than at most comparable prisons, all prisoners had single-cell accommodation of good standard, and 82% could access religious services when they wanted to. Most prisoners undertaking education or training eventually achieved their target qualification, though not always within the planned timescale.
Inspectors raised three priority concerns: a very high number of prisoners held in segregation, limiting an already restricted regime there, no significant improvement in psychologically based mental health interventions since 2020, and still insufficient full-time activity places. Some 38% of prisoners were locked in their cells during the working day at roll-check, and only around a third left the wing for education, skills or work on a typical day. There were 53 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and 70 assaults on staff over the year, and use of force was higher than at the 2020 inspection, though still lower than at comparable prisons.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
July 2024
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
- Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Full Sutton by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (11–21 March 2024, published 8 July 2024)
- Easy read summary of the 2024 inspection report
- Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2024 inspection of HMP Full Sutton