North East prisoners were given access to air fryers as a reward for good behaviour, only for the appliances to be withdrawn shortly afterwards over safety and hygiene concerns, a new report has revealed.
The report into HMP Northumberland, one of the largest prisons in the region and home to more than 1,200 men, found the appliances had been introduced on standard residential wings as part of a trial to encourage prisoners to keep communal spaces clean.
Inspectors said the air fryers were intended to act as a "simple, immediate incentive in a jail where meaningful rewards are in short supply".
According to the report, the devices were offered “for a short period as a reward for keeping the units clean”, but were quickly removed after staff raised concerns about safety and the difficulty of keeping them hygienic.
HMP Northumberland has said that the air fryers were removed from the prison to enable it to "review and enhance food safety in self-cook areas with a new cleaning regime and assurance framework".
The scrapped air fryer scheme forms part of a broader report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, which said HMP Northumberland lacked a strong incentives framework to encourage good behaviour or help prisoners feel they were progressing.
HMP Northumberland said that it welcomes the review and will take the feedback on board from the inspector.
One of the inspection’s priority concerns was that the jail offered “not enough incentives to motivate prisoners to behave well or opportunities for them to develop a sense of progression.”
Many men told inspectors they saw little advantage in reaching enhanced status, with some wings offering minimal additional privileges.
Enhanced units did exist, some offering fridges, freezers and opportunities to cook full meals together, but inspectors found that, across the general population, incentives were "inconsistent" and often "underdeveloped".
Despite these shortcomings, the overall inspection was broadly positive, according to the report.
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The prison was judged “reasonably good” across all four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.
Leaders were praised for steering the jail through "major disruption" after the discovery of unsafe reinforced concrete (RAAC) forced closures of multiple buildings, including accommodation blocks and the education centre.
Inspectors highlighted:
- Excellent provision in education and workshops, with Ofsted scoring the prison “Good” across all categories.
- Improved staff retention and training, contributing to generally good staff–prisoner relationships.
- Strong partnership working, especially in health care and resettlement services.
But they also raised serious concerns:
- Self-harm support remained too limited, with repeated failures in case management.
- Drug use continued to drive violence, and although assaults were low compared to similar prisons, violence had risen by more than 80% since the last inspection.
- Public protection monitoring, including checks on phone calls and mail, was still not robust enough.
Inspectors described Northumberland as a “decent, productive jail” that is "generally well run despite significant pressures". But they were clear that the incentives scheme, from enhanced wings to small perks like air fryers, must be developed if the prison is to reduce poor behaviour and give men a sense of progress.
In response to the report, aHMP Northumberland spokesperson said: “We welcome the Chief Inspector’s review of our progress and take on board fully his feedback and recommendations for improvement.
"Since the last review, we are pleased that the new report recognises the positive outcomes and hard work undertaken by our team across a range of areas which include:
- Education, work and training provision
- Positive culture and strong leadership
- Preparation of prisoners upon release
- Healthcare provision (working alongside our healthcare partner Spectrum)
“However, we fully acknowledge that we have more to do in other areas, such as improving safety levels, reducing self-harm, keywork delivery and addressing the supply of illicit drugs.
"We take these challenges seriously. Since the inspection, we have implemented a range of measures to improve these issues.
Working alongside HMPPS, we remain committed to building on the progress made.”
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