Prison
Cat B, local, remand
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Birmingham
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 16 December 2025
HMP Birmingham, a busy Category B reception prison, faces critical pressure on its estate and a significantly increased prisoner churn, yet the Board finds it decently run with a largely smooth regime. However, the prison is plagued by failing infrastructure, particularly persistently broken lifts, causing significant inconvenience and access issues. Key concerns include a worrying rise in deaths in custody, increased self-harm and assaults, and the highest use of force rates among its comparator prisons, alongside ongoing issues with inhumane cell sharing and kit shortages. The report also highlights the impact of an ageing prison population on healthcare resources, the detrimental effects of prolonged remand times on prisoner progression, and stalled refurbishment works.
Positive Findings
The Board found HMP Birmingham to be decently run with a largely smooth regime, particularly commending the experienced new Governor for building on previous successes. Wings have been repainted, creating work and pride, and the safety team works diligently with a notably low use of Pava spray. Food complaints have significantly decreased due to proactive management and excellent Ramadan catering, supported by new heated trolleys. Key working has improved and is a regional highlight, and 'neurodiversity visits' are an excellent initiative. The chaplaincy team is well-managed and provided crucial support during a period of increased deaths, while occupational therapy has boosted morale in healthcare and the mental health team received positive peer review feedback. Prisoners are also trained in Naloxone administration to prevent overdose deaths.
Key Concerns
Staffing
Important regular meetings (EDI, healthcare/residential managers, use of force management) are frequently cancelled, contributing to a broader failure of accountability at all levels within the prison.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The failing infrastructure, particularly persistently out-of-order lifts, significantly impedes prisoner movement and access to services, severely disadvantaging wheelchair users. This issue has been noted as unaddressed from the previous year.
Safety
A significant increase in deaths in custody, including a drug overdose death in CSU shortly after reception, raises serious concerns about reception screening, adherence to the secretion policy, and welfare checks.
Segregation
The Care and Separation Unit (CSU) faces severe issues with many cells unusable due to damage, leading to a critical shortage of operational cells. This compromises the appropriate management of violent incidents and forces prisoners to serve cellular confinement on residential wings.
Safety
HMP Birmingham remains a volatile establishment, experiencing increased self-harm and assaults, and has the highest use of force rates among comparator prisons, indicating a lack of sustained improvement.
Overcrowding
Repeated
Inhumane cell sharing, especially with inadequate privacy screening, remains a concern, despite previous recommendations to increase the ratio of single to double cells.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Ongoing shortages of essential kit (bedding, clothing, kettles) persist due to budget constraints, high prisoner churn, and problems with laundry returns from HMP Liverpool.
Healthcare
Repeated
The increasing number of frail elderly prisoners places significant pressure on healthcare units, with a lack of appropriate alternative accommodation and no materialisation of a long-promised ageing prisoners strategy.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Prolonged remand times prevent mandated work/education, and delays in transferring sentenced prisoners to appropriate establishments hinder access to programmes and interventions.
Estate/Conditions
The refurbishment of three Victorian wings has been stalled for nine months due to contractor administration, with no work undertaken despite ongoing costs, raising concerns about project management and public expenditure.
Staffing
Repeated
Recruitment and retention processes require review, particularly to incorporate face-to-face interviews for prison officers, as current systems are inadequate and staff inexperience contributes to safety issues.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Poor attendance at education (average 57%) and underutilisation of the new library highlight a need to prioritise and maximise engagement in education, employment, and soft skills, hindered by staff shortages and lack of a cohesive strategy.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The safety team's proactive tracking and support functions have been undermined by the cross-deployment of custodial and operational staff to support the regime, compounded by the strain of numerous death in custody investigations. Staff inexperience is identified as a factor in the rise of use of force incidents, with some staff demonstrating a lack of professionalism. The Board notes that recruitment and retention processes, including the absence of face-to-face interviews for prison officers, remain a concern despite existing strategies and significant staff sickness levels, particularly impacting key working audit compliance. Healthcare and drug and alcohol teams also report ongoing staffing issues, though recruitment is underway.
Healthcare
HMP Birmingham operates a large, busy 24/7 healthcare unit that serves as a regional resource, although it faces persistent staffing challenges with reliance on agency staff. A critical issue is the healthcare lift being out of order for many months, severely impacting prisoner access to appointments, exercise, and family visits, as well as staff. Other concerns include difficulties maintaining infection prevention and control standards due to poor cleaning, faulty medication hatches on four wings, and low prisoner attendance at booked appointments. The increasing number of frail elderly prisoners places significant pressure on beds, effectively 'bed-blocking' the unit, and there is a recognised need to better embed lessons from death in custody investigations across all staff.
Regime & Daily Life
While the regime is mostly smooth, a worrying lack of accountability is evident through the frequent cancellation of important meetings, including those for equality, healthcare, and use of force. The prison's failing infrastructure, especially persistently broken lifts, severely impedes daily life, leaving wheelchair users stranded and disrupting crucial movements. Inhumane cell sharing, exacerbated by inadequate privacy screening, remains a core concern. Ongoing shortages of essential kit, from bedding to kettles, are attributed to budget constraints and issues with laundry returns. Additionally, the Care and Separation Unit faces critical capacity issues due to damaged cells, forcing alternative, less ideal arrangements for cellular confinement.
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 | 16 | 45 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 12 | 5 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 4 | 12 | |
| Equality | 3 | 2 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 9 | 18 | |
| Food and kitchens | 5 | 19 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 21 | 36 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 8 | 24 | |
| Miscellaneous | 21 | 42 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 15 | 3 | |
| Property within the establishment | 35 | 33 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 7 | 16 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 20 | 21 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 55 | 45 | |
| Transfers | 4 | 10 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 4
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Why was the collapse of ISG not anticipated within the Ministry? With significant work already undertaken on the refurbishment of A, B and C wings, why was more effort not made within the Ministry to instate a new contractor and get the work completed faster? From September 2024 to June 2025, no work was undertaken while still using significant amounts of public money to pay for the tower crane and scaffolding.
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We still believe that single cells remain the safest and most humane option for most prisoners in the 21st century and make no apology for asking again: what plans does the Minister have to increase the ratio of single to double cells?
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Response
Assurance that prisoners are accommodated safely even when held in crowded conditions.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
With ever increasing numbers of elderly and frail prisoners in the prison estate, what plans does the Minister have to commission secure but appropriate accommodation for them, which will free up much needed space? Also, a long-promised ageing prisoners strategy has failed to materialise: what is the current timeline for the delivery of the strategy, and what concrete steps are being taken to ensure this timeline is met?
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Response
HMPPS is considering the needs of older prisoners in its long- term estates work.
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What plans does the Prison Service have to ensure that all the lifts in HMP Birmingham function properly?
HMPPS
Estate
Response
The prison is implementing a painting programme to improve the environment. Disabilities: the prison will ensure that personal/bespoke equipment is provided.
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What steps will the Prison Service take to increase recruitment whilst also improving the process to include face-to-face interviews for prison officers?
HMPPS
Staffing
Response
HMPPS has developed a retention strategy and also exit interviews.
Recommendation 6
What plans does the Governor have to reduce the occasions when force is used in the prison?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 7
How will the Governor increase accountability at all levels within the prison?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 8
Repeated
What will the governor do to resolve the ongoing issue relating to shortages of kit?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
How does the Governor plan to prioritise and maximise attendance at education, employments and soft skills within the regime?
Governor / Director
Education
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.