Prison
Cat B local
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Birmingham
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 3 November 2021
HMP Birmingham has shown significant improvement in safety and stability under new leadership, making it the safest it has been in years, despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Healthcare provision is good, and peer support systems are strong. However, key concerns persist regarding the inhumane nature of prolonged in-cell lock-up, the high levels of use of force, and persistent issues with long stays in segregation. Other areas needing development include support for homelessness on release, addressing learning difficulties, and ensuring equity in the IEP scheme.
Positive Findings
HMP Birmingham is considered the safest it has been in years, showing ongoing improvement and stability under new leadership, despite the pandemic. Positive findings include good communication between prisoners and management, effective use of data for safety improvements, and a reduction in illicit item ingress due to new security measures. Healthcare provision is deemed good, with peer support schemes being a strength. The chaplaincy provided uninterrupted support, and education success rates significantly improved.
Key Concerns
Segregation
Repeated
Prolonged and repeated stays in the segregation unit (CSU) for challenging cases, without suitable alternative national provision or a humane referral process for close supervision centres.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The inhumane nature of the 22.5-hour daily lock-up regime and its potential long-term impact on mental and physical health.
Safety
Repeated
High levels of unplanned use of force compared to similar prisons, compounded by a lack of consistent body-worn video camera use and insufficient equipment.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Significant issues with homelessness for prisoners released directly from court or on short sentences, and difficulties for others in opening bank accounts on release.
Equality/Diversity
Inadequate addressing of learning difficulties and autism among prisoners, requiring improved identification, training, and support systems, including not recording the number of prisoners with learning difficulties admitted to the CSU.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Disproportionate representation of mixed-race and white British prisoners in the CSU, and lower enhanced Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) status for Black and minority ethnic prisoners.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Persistent problems with lost property, catalogue purchases, and complaint response times, particularly for discrimination incident report forms (DIRFs).
Segregation
Segregation meetings (monitoring and review group meetings) are not given sufficient priority, are cancelled and not rescheduled, leading to the Board being unable to attend.
Segregation
The Board cannot be certain that actions decided upon in GOOD reviews are always carried out, as communications regarding action points are verbal, without a defined process.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels were critically low by June 2021, with about 25% of staff off work due to the pandemic. This led to staff working longer hours, redeployments, and reduced coverage in key areas, straining relationships and threatening stability. Non-regular staff on wings were linked to increased violence. While the key worker programme was mostly maintained, issues with body-worn camera availability and review, also due to staff shortages, remain a concern.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision at HMP Birmingham is considered good, potentially surpassing community standards under Covid-19, with a strong focus on prisoner wellbeing. Nursing, psychiatric, and psychology services operated without interruption, and Covid-19 outbreaks were well-managed with minimal serious illness. However, the Board expresses concerns about the long-term mental health impact of prolonged in-cell hours and limited purposeful activity. Psychologists provide positive interventions, especially in the CSU, and peer support for mental health is effective.
Regime & Daily Life
The current regime, where prisoners are locked up for 22.5 hours a day, is deemed inhumane by the Board, despite being tolerated for over 16 months during the pandemic. This restricted regime significantly impacted purposeful activity and offending behaviour programs, raising concerns about long-term mental health and resettlement preparation. Post-Covid plans indicate continued limited out-of-cell time, emphasizing the crucial need for high-quality, purposeful activities to prevent reduced social interaction and personal responsibility.
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 transfers) | 45 | 38 | |
| Discipline (including adjudications, CSU) | 20 | 15 | |
| Food | 12 | 15 | |
| Medical | 13 | 18 | |
| Other requests (including confidential) | 27 | 30 | |
| Property | 120 | 136 | |
| Regime (including education, work, gym) | 16 | 20 | |
| Release/recall | 12 | 10 | |
| Staff conduct | 28 | 25 | |
| Total | 309 | 337 | |
| Visits (including domestic, legal, virtual) | 16 | 20 |
Recommendations (14)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 6
Governor / Director: 5
12 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Will the Minister improve the management of immediate releases from court to “no fixed abode” and will he ensure that the Courts have a role to play to help ensure better communication and co-ordination with their local resettlement services so that no-one is immediately released to sleep on the streets?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
What will the minister do to ensure that prisoners on remand, on short sentences, reaching the end of their sentence and those released out of their home area who are not on probation are given access to accommodation on release, as at present, as this will not be covered by the new contract with Nacro?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
How will the minister ensure that foreign national prisoners are released or deported at the end of their sentence, and that they are not held in custody beyond the expiry of their sentence?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Will the Prison Service make better provision for the rehabilitative needs and resources required for prisoners who are long stay in the CSU, for whom normal location is not suitable (see paragraph 5.2.3)?
HMPPS
Segregation
Recommendation 5
Repeated
What is provided in close supervisioncentres for prisoners who, having already spent excessive times in segregation, are transferred to such units? Will the Prison Service commit to ensuring that isolation is balanced with rehabilitation and human, social needs and rights?
HMPPS
Segregation
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Many prisoners are subject to repeated stays in isolation in the CSU, as well as those who remain there for excessively long periods of time. Why is the number of days that a prisoner spends in the CSU not calculated cumulatively and continued on transfer from one prison to another?
HMPPS
Segregation
Recommendation 7
Repeated
How will the Prison Service plan a more coordinated, consistent and fair system of recording and tracking provision for prisoners with autism and learning difficulties, and how will they ensure that staff are fully trained and competent at recognising, working and interacting with prisoners with these conditions?
HMPPS
Equality
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons recommends that every prisoner should have 10 hours out-of-cell each day. How will the Prison Service ensure that prisoners have access to a humane regime, with fair access to exercise, fresh air and purposeful activity post-Covid-19?
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Does HMPPS accept that personal and social skills are part of a prisoner’s preparation for release, and that limited social interactions in a restricted regime post-Covid-19 may in the long term inhibit reducing reoffending, even if in the immediate term it improves stability in the prison?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 10
Repeated
As the prison moves to a new regime post-Covid-19, what assurance can the Governor give that the work provided will be genuinely purposeful and, in education, matched to individual capabilities?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Will the Governor assure a more robust system of ensuring that agreed actions in good order and/or discipline reviews are written down, communicated and acted upon?
Governor / Director
Segregation
Recommendation 12
Repeated
How can officers be certain of using body-worn video cameras if they do not have access to one each, and can a more robust, reliable and accountable system be introduced to ensure that all radios are collected, deployed and returned every day?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 13
Repeated
How will the Governor ensure parity between ethnic groups when enhanced incentives and earned privileges status is applied?
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 14
Repeated
Following the redeployment of the property officer from reception, how will the Governor ensure that all prisoners’ property is correctly logged, held securely and does not go missing within the prison and on transfer on from the prison?
Governor / Director
Complaints
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.