Last inspectedFebruary 2023Full inspection, unannounced
Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons report published 30 May 2023; visiting details from GOV.UK · last checked 29 October 2026
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (February 2023; report published May 2023), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were poor for purposeful activity; not sufficiently good for rehabilitation and release planning; reasonably good for safety and respect. It held 961 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 977. An independent review of progress was published in August 2026.
Safety: reasonably good · Respect: reasonably good · Purposeful activity: poor · Rehabilitation and release planning: not sufficiently good Read our story
The Chief Inspector of Prisons formally told the Justice Secretary of urgent and significant concerns. The government must respond publicly within 28 days. Read our story
The High Court has dismissed an NHS trust’s appeal against a ruling that its rules on handing out codeine at HMP Birmingham indirectly discriminated against a fasting Muslim prisoner.
Charlie Taylor says seriously mentally ill people are arriving at HMP Birmingham and HMP Foston Hall without assessment, a pattern he says is unique to the West Midlands.
Men in the prison’s upcycling woodwork workshops have built dens, tunnels, benches and a pallet bus for local primary pupils through an outdoor play scheme.
Inspectors found violence had fallen by more than 60% at the city's reception prison since an Urgent Notification in 2018. Purposeful activity, however, remained poor.
Prison News staff
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