HMP & YOI Low Newton

Role and history

In shortLow Newton is a prison and young offender institution for women aged 18 and over in Brasside near Durham, combining a reception and resettlement role with a high-security unit for restricted status women.

GOV.UK describes Low Newton as a prison and young offender institution for women aged 18 and over, in Brasside near Durham. HMIP's November 2025 report gives its task as a reception and resettlement prison and a high-security prison for restricted status women, meaning women considered to need specific management arrangements.

It sits next to HMP Frankland, a point the Chief Inspector made in the Frankland report.

A, B and C wings

General wings.

E wing

Early days in custody, induction and detoxification (with an enhanced-level unit, E4).

F wing

Long-term and indeterminate sentence women, restricted status women and the Primrose unit for high-risk women.

J wing

An incentivised substance-free living unit.

I wing

A psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE).

Health care unit

Includes a palliative care suite.

Who is held

In shortLow Newton holds women on remand, recall and long sentences, and the Inspectorate flagged that some mentally very unwell women were sent to prison for lack of community services.

• Held, November 2025267 womenOperational capacity 298
• Monthly flow72 and 70Average receptions and releases into the community
• On remand or unsentenced30%A further 13% recalled
• Sentences over four years35%

Just over half of the women were receiving support for substance misuse, and on average 45 women a month were referred for a mental health assessment. Six women were foreign nationals. HMIP's introduction describes a busy County Durham prison holding women serving long sentences as well as those on remand or short recalls.

HMIP inspection, November 2025

In shortHMIP rated Low Newton good for safety, respect and preparation for release in November 2025, calling it well run, decent and a benchmark for similar jails.

• SafetyGood
• RespectGood
• Purposeful activityReasonably good
• Preparation for releaseGood

HMIP inspected from 10 to 20 November 2025 and published its report on 24 February 2026. Of 29 recommendations from the 2021 inspection, 20 had been achieved, two partially achieved and seven not achieved.

The Chief Inspector said the jail was well run and decent, and that it set the benchmark to which similar jails should aspire. Ten key concerns were listed, three of them priorities.

Staff and prisoner relationships

In shortHMIP found patient, compassionate staff and regular key work, with culture change under way but some officers not yet comfortable with it.

• Women treated with respect81%
• Staff interested in welfare57%Against 35% in similar prisons
• Wellbeing improved since arriving51%Against 29%
• Locked up in core day5%Only 13 women, in roll checks

HMIP's findings about the way staff and women interact are central to the report. Inspectors saw staff who were patient and compassionate and worked to build trust with women who were particularly challenging, and most women had regular, meaningful contact with a key worker.

Women had more time unlocked than in similar prisons: most had at least five and a half hours a day during the week, around eight and a half for those in full-time work, and about 12 hours on J wing.

What the IMB reported for 2025-26

In shortThe IMB's more recent report noted rising violence, self-harm and use of force and staff shortages affecting the regime, alongside high prisoner safety scores.

• Women interviewed15054% of the population, board safety survey, summer 2025
• Felt safe or very safe93%
• Never been threatened99%

The independent monitoring board's annual report for 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, published in June 2026, is more recent than the inspection. The board reports an increase in both prisoner-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-staff assaults and expressed concern about a significant rise in self-harm, violence and use of force.

It also says ongoing staff shortages affected the regime and increased time spent in cells, which could limit opportunities to build relationships between staff and women.

• Board members observed improvements in how women are helped to keep contact with families, and a higher number of family visits.
• In the last weeks of the reporting year a major gas leak caused a loss of heating and hot water, which the prison managed with other sources.
• Its main issues for ministers were women's transport to the prison and severely mentally unwell women being sent to custody.

Working here

In shortLow Newton is in the national pay zone with no Band 3 market supplement listed on 3 October 2026, and vacancies appear in the national HMPPS search.

• Officers150 FTEAt 30 June 2026, Band 3 to 5, against a target of 167
• Market supplementNone listedHMPPS list checked 3 October 2026

We did not find an establishment-specific recruitment page, so vacancies appear in the national HMPPS search. HMIP and the IMB paint a picture of an environment that depends on relationships, key work and specialist units such as PIPE and Primrose, where HMIP says officers have regular clinical supervision.