Inspectors have raised concerns over staff shortages at a high security prison near York.
The shortages are having a “significant impact” on the running of HMP Full Sutton, the prison’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found in its 2025 annual report.
Investigators said staff shortages resulted in the number of suspicion-based drug tests carried out to fall from 62 in 2024 to six in 2025.
The Ministry of Justice said it is “tackling staffing shortages by recruiting more officers and deploying them where they're most needed, as well as boosting salaries”.
Mental health provisions for prisoners were limited to weekdays last year at Full Sutton, inspectors found.
The average length of stay for prisoners in segregation was 49 days and it “proved difficult to transfer many prisoners to other establishments due to the ongoing national prison population pressures”, the report said.
It added that education provision was “curtailed overall, especially in smaller units”.
“Throughout 2025, continuing daily shortages of staff as a result of unfilled vacancies, illness, restricted duties and resignations played a major part in the prison regularly not being able to deliver the desired regime levels,” the report said.
“This regularly required the introduction of curtailed or restricted regimes in order to maintain safety for staff and prisoners, while providing predictability for prisoners.”
Inspectors did, however, find that the number of assaults on staff almost halved last year compared with 2024. There were 42 assaults on staff last year, compared to 80 in 2024.
The number of serious assaults on staff also fell last year, the report said.
Investigators found the levels of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults last year remained consistent with 2024, with the number of incidents classed as serious unchanged at six.
They also found that levels of prisoner unemployment had fallen, and fewer men were being segregated with the daily average falling from 36 to 31.
Prison still 'generally safe' despite staff shortages, says board chair
Richard Terry, chair of the IMB at Full Sutton, said: “In the 2025 reporting year, the board acknowledges that despite staff shortages, Full Sutton still maintained a generally safe environment for prisoners and staff whilst providing as much purposeful activity as possible, in the form of workshop employment.
“The board remains concerned about reduced education provision, the lost opportunities in suspicion drug testing, and the disproportionate number of evening lockdowns experienced by smaller units.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We inherited a prison system in crisis, and while there is more work to be done, we're pleased to see the board recognising positive improvement at HMP Full Sutton.
"We are tackling staffing shortages by recruiting more officers and deploying them where they're most needed, as well as boosting salaries."
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