Prison
Cat reception prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Birmingham
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 18 October 2023
HMP Birmingham has continued to improve under strong leadership, providing a calm environment where prisoners generally feel safe. However, the report highlights significant concerns including persistently low staffing levels leading to restricted regimes, cancelled activities, and reduced key worker support. The Board also raises issues with the disproportionate use of force and segregation on black and mixed-heritage prisoners, prolonged remand times without resettlement support, and unsuitable living conditions in some shared cells.
Positive Findings
The Board observed strong leadership, relentless self-evaluation, and improvement at HMP Birmingham. The prison provides a calm and ordered environment, with prisoners generally reporting feeling safe and good relationships with staff. Mental health provision is noted as particularly good, potentially better than in the community, and there are positive initiatives in equality and diversity, including a project to train EDI advocates. Improved body scanner use and reduced canteen complaints are also highlighted.
Key Concerns
Safety
Use of force remains high.
Safety
Repeated
Body worn video (BWV) is not used consistently in incidents of use of force.
Staffing
The HMPPS prison officer appointment process has resulted in some unsuitable appointments.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Use of force and segregation is disproportionately used on black men and men of mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Shared cells, where meals are eaten, with a toilet alongside, are not suitable living conditions.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Heating problems and a leaking roof on P wing are annual issues during extreme temperatures and heavy rainfall.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
90 mins per day out-of-cell, for most of the year, was inadequate.
Healthcare
Some outside hospital appointments were missed because there were not enough staff escorts available or on other occasions because taxi services were unreliable.
Staffing
Low numbers of available staff meant that, for most of the year, purposeful activity often had to be cancelled.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Remand prisoners can spend up to two, three, even four years in prison before sentencing or release and without access to pre-release support.
Staffing
The number of Key Worker sessions has reduced.
Staffing
Reduced staffing levels amongst the pre-release team and prison offender managers have impacted on the delivery of support to prisoners before and at the point of release.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing remains a significant concern, with a high attrition rate, particularly among inexperienced officers, partly due to an unsuitable appointment process that excludes local Governor input. Low staff availability (69.9% in June 2023) has led to restricted regimes, cancelled purposeful activities, and a reduction in quality key worker sessions. The loss of experienced staff and reliance on new recruits also impacts interpersonal skills and the overall level of prisoner support.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision faces challenges with missed external hospital appointments due to staff escort shortages and unreliable transport. There are also concerns regarding the management of medication upon prisoner arrival and prolonged waiting times for various services, particularly dental care. The prison's X-ray machine was inoperable for several months. Despite these issues, mental health provision is considered good, potentially surpassing community standards, benefiting from on-site inpatient facilities and CPNs on wings.
Regime & Daily Life
For most of the reporting period, the regime was restricted, with prisoners receiving only 90 minutes out-of-cell time daily, deemed inadequate and incompatible with humane treatment. Low staff availability frequently led to the cancellation of purposeful activity and significantly impacted education attendance. While the prison committed to increasing out-of-cell time to a minimum of two hours daily from June 4th and purposeful activity places improved, staffing issues remain a major impediment to a full and consistent regime.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 10 | 15 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 11 | 12 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 8 | 9 | |
| Equality | 7 | 3 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 21 | 13 | |
| Food and kitchens | 14 | 9 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 39 | 25 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 34 | 8 | |
| Miscellaneous | 53 | 17 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 16 | 17 | |
| Property within the establishment | 39 | 34 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 8 | 10 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 28 | 17 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 56 | 25 | |
| Transfers | 18 | 10 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 3
2 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Despite reporting on this last year and the year before, Birmingham IMB observe that there has been no reduction in the length of stays on remand, which can be up to three, or even exceptionally four years. In reply to the last annual report the Minister gave certain assurances and yet there has been no measurable improvement. What steps will be taken to reduce time spent on remand? And what resettlement support will be given to men on remand?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Response
Magistrates’ courts sentencing powers extended to free up capacity in Crown courts. Government investing £477 million and more judges being recruited over next three years. However, there has been no impact on prison remand population as yet, with the Crown court caseload in August 2022 being higher than previously.
Recommendation 2
Prev. addressed
The board appreciates the then Minister’s confirmation (letter dated 16.11.20 signed by Lucy Fraser QC MP) that the refurbishment of wings A B and C will be for single cell occupancy only. The board notes that most cells on other wings are for shared occupancy which they consider less suitable for prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 3
High rates of attrition are partly attributable to the appointments process which has resulted in too many unsuitable appointments. The process excludes the local Governor from involvement in the interview. Will HMPPS review the appointments process with a view to including local Governors in the selection process and a more rigorous assessment of a candidate’s suitability for the role of prison officer?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 4
The board considers the ending of the trainees’ apprenticeship scheme to be a retrograde step.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 5
What will be done to ensure the availability of enough staff and resources at HMP Birmingham to avoid restricted regimes, missed hospital appointments and quality key worker support? In June 2023, only 69.9% of all staff were available for work.
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 6
Retaining staff is a concern particularly when experienced staff are leaving. How will HMPPS improve staff retention rates?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 7
Repeated
The apparent disproportionate use of force on black prisoners and prisoners of mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds can be explained by a few repeat individual offenders. What will the Governor do to raise trust and compliance among those men resistant to the system and so reduce or remove disproportionality?
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 8
Many prisoners have only had 90 minutes daily out of cell. How will the Governor ensure that, even at the current rate of 69% staff availability (June 2023), the regime will run and all men will have a minimum of 2 hours every weekday out-of-cell?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
Will the Governor commit to delivering key worker sessions as well as a full regime?
Governor / Director
Regime
Other IMB Reports for Birmingham
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
6 Oct 2025
Unannounced
30 Jan 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 2
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.