Birmingham independent review of progress 2026
Report for Birmingham Prison
Summary
we found at our last inspection At our previous inspections of HMP Birmingham in 2023 and 2025 we made the following judgements . Figure 1: HMP Birmingham healthy prison outcomes in 2023 and 2025 In 2025, levels of violence and self-harm were too high, and drugs were easily available, which affected the stability of the prison. Living conditions had been allowed to deteriorate, and the prison was dirty. Unacceptably, very mentally unwell men were being sent to the prison without an assessment while in police or court custody, to potentially divert them to a more suitable setting. There were long delays in transferring prisoners to a mental health hospital. Care plans for prisoners withdrawing from drugs were lacking.