Source · IMB Annual Report
Brinsford
Year: 2025
Published: 5 Dec 2025
Type: Prison · Cat YOI, Category C Resettlement
Population: 545
Recommendations: 5
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP/YOI Brinsford, a YOI and Category C resettlement prison, held an average of 545 prisoners during the reporting year. While the environment is generally considered safe and healthcare provision good, the Board has significant concerns regarding the persistent delays in mental health transfers, the poor condition of the estate, and inadequate education and purposeful activity. Key worker compliance is low due to staffing issues, and violence between prisoners increased to 528 incidents.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
| Prisoner assaults | 528 | 484 |
| Assaults on staff | 96 | 81 |
Positive findings
The Board believes the environment is, on the whole, safe, and commends staff for their hard work supporting individuals who self-harm using a holistic approach. Prisoners are generally treated fairly and humanely, with managers dealing swiftly with unprofessional conduct. Healthcare needs are well met by Practice Plus Group, whose staff are commended for their teamwork. Staff-prisoner relationships are generally good, and a decrease in serious staff assaults is noted. The review of the incentives scheme is welcomed, and the IMB has seen a significant fall in property-related applications. The chaplaincy team is highly visible, supportive, and an integrated part of prison staff.
Key concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
There remains a problem in relocating prisoners with mental health problems to more suitable mental health facilities. All transfers to a secure mental health facility from HMP Brinsford continued to exceed the 28-day stipulated time frame.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The management of prisoner property, particularly on transfer between establishments, continues to cause many problems. A national policy and procedure has been in place for some time, but there is little or no improvement.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The ‘new’ heating system is not up to standard.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The education contract is still not fit for purpose. It has always proved very difficult to hold the provider to account and to ensure that the prison gets good education provision. Not enough is being done to motivate or encourage prisoners to attend regularly or consistently.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The overall condition of Brinsford is still very outdated and in a poor state of repair. Previous improvements and decoration were short-term solutions and completed to a poor standard. Brinsford still needs a great deal of investment to return it to an acceptable standard.
Healthcare
The showers in the healthcare centre are not fit for purpose.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Activity places are limited and not ‘meaningful’. Brinsford has been a resettlement prison for more than three years, but purposeful activity has not increased and the activities have not improved.
Safety
There are still too many transfers between establishments. Bringing in prisoners from other establishments too regularly makes the gang problem more difficult to manage and the churn of prisoners destabilises the safety of the prison.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
When a prisoner needs to be moved urgently, it seems to be very difficult to find a place elsewhere.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Too frequently, prisoners are moved to HMP Brinsford when in the middle of a course at their previous prison, which is not on offer in Brinsford. Similarly, transfers further from family lead to denying prisoners valuable family support through regular social visits.
Estate/Conditions
Following the problems encountered in relation to the building of two new residential units, the prison grounds have been left with temporary car park, temporary boarding and holes in the ground.
Safety
Despite an increase in violence in the prison and the high incidence of illicit items entering the prison.
Safety
Gang culture remains a cause of friction between prisoners and often leads to premeditated violence. It can also result in prisoners being afraid of being on wings and mixing with other prisoners.
Safety
There remains a minority of prisoners who self-harm, and they often need specialist support.
Safety
The number of self-isolators is higher than in previous reporting years. Prisoners tell us that they self-isolate due to the nature of their offences and because of debt.
Safety
The Board is particularly concerned about violence towards staff. In the reporting year, there were 96 assaults on staff, with six recorded as serious.
Safety
There were 56 in-cell fires over the reporting year, which seems very high and potentially dangerous for the whole prison.
Safety
Officers have not been professional in their dealings with prisoners on occasions.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board is of the view that prisoners need to be occupied, which is not always evident. Idleness and frustration can, and often do, lead to violence. Prisoners are testing established limits, and the lack of appropriate intervention by officers contributes to increased non-compliance. The Board has observed prisoners not wearing the appropriate protective clothing at the servery, as well as vaping, swearing and eating food, all whilst supervising officers ignore this behaviour.
Complaints/Property
Prisoners’ property remains a problem area: all too frequently, property goes missing, especially on prisoner transfer.
Staffing
Key work over the reporting year has been poor, with an average compliance rate of 8.16% in February, 6.23% in December and 9.22% in January.
Safety
Prisoners remain restrained longer than necessary because officers do not check for compliance.
Estate/Conditions
The Board is seriously concerned about the failure to ensure a basic standard of accommodation for prisoners.
Resettlement/Release
The rehabilitative work and preparations for release are deficient and, therefore, not fit for purpose. We have previously raised this issue with the Governor, but there is little evidence that anything has changed.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The education provided does not meet the needs of the prison population most of the time. We have raised our concerns about the poor education standards and low-level engagement of the prisoners with the Governor throughout the reporting year.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Novus, the contracted education provider, has failed to ensure that all lessons are delivered, especially when vocational course teachers have been absent.
Education/Purposeful Activity
We do not believe that prisoners are motivated to attend or that enough has been done to encourage better attendance in education.
Safety
The current percentage of staff trained in administering nasal Naloxone is 8%, significantly below the 30% minimum target.
Safety
Officers show poor control over incidents by, for example, not clearing the area of other prisoners.
Safety
Body worn video camera use has increased throughout the year. However, there are times when they are not switched on. On average, they are switched on 55-60% of the time. The Board believes this should be greater.
Safety
Despite investments in CCTV, there are still some ‘blind spots’ and cameras that are too far away from the incident.
Safety
During the reporting year, the use of drones bringing in illicit paraphernalia increased, with prisoners removing windows from their frames to be able to reach packages.
Substance Misuse
There remains a large ingress of drugs, mobile phones and USBs.
Estate/Conditions
Cell toilets and sinks are in poor condition, throughout the prison but particularly in the CSU. This is exacerbated by poor cleaning regimes.
Estate/Conditions
The cells in the CSU are in particularly poor condition, especially the toilets and sinks but also the beds and the floors.
Estate/Conditions
Shower facilities on some wings are of a very poor standard and refurbishment work has not been of a satisfactory standard. In particular, ventilation is poor, leading to a buildup of mould.
Estate/Conditions
Faulty or damaged in-cell phones are also very slow to be dealt with because (BT) will only attend the site when there is a minimum of five repairs to be actioned. Consequently, some prisoners wait a disproportionate length of time for a repair.
Estate/Conditions
There have been issues with rodent infestations across the year.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Prisoners have lost faith in the internal laundry service. Issues early in the reporting year resulted in lost or stolen items and, consequently, prisoners are reluctant to send items to the laundry, preferring to wash and dry them in cells.
Food/Catering
Food service quality can be variable and portions insufficient. Food service has, on occasion, been observed to be poorly supervised by officers, which leads to discrepancies in portion size and items being held back.
Segregation
There were three instances where a prisoner’s stay in the CSU exceeded 42 days (63 days; 56 days; and 47 days ongoing, at end of reporting year), the time limit allowed without external authorisation.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Access to radios is occasionally impacted by low stocks, as the wind-up and solar-charged models in use are not robust and are easily damaged. Replacement stock is costly, and orders often delayed.
Equality/Diversity
The major problem for neurodiversity support is the lack of funding and purchasing; £1500 per annum is insufficient to purchase ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) coaching courses, training and resources.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Some enhanced prisoners have complained that they are unable to book the additional social visits they are entitled to due to lack of capacity in the visiting hall. This frustration is compounded when there is non-attendance by visitors who fail to cancel their booking, leaving spaces unused.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Board is of the view there remains a problem in relocating prisoners with mental health problems to more suitable mental health facilities. All transfers to a secure mental health facility from HMP Brinsford continued to exceed the 28-day stipulated time frame. Will the Minister take steps to ensure that sufficient secure hospital places are available?
Repeated
Response
I share the Board’s concern about men who are acutely unwell waiting too long for specialist hospital care. The new Mental Health Act 2025 creates a statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison to secure mental health hospitals. A Mental Health and Justice Strategic Advisory Group, chaired by the National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, is overseeing delivery and reporting regularly to Ministers. Regionally, both Midlands Provider Collaboratives have strategic and operational action plans focused on bed capacity, clinical prioritisation, improved data and new delivery models. There are also fortnightly clinically led operational meetings that track individual cases until transfer. I expect these arrangements to translate into consistent compliance with the statutory time limit, and I will continue to ask for clear, published progress against that standard. The significant reforms of the Sentencing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent recently on 22 January 2026, will provide further options to the Courts and will help inform future requirements for the prison estate at a strategic level. Locally, I recognise the burden that delayed transfers place on staff in HMP/YOI Brinsford’s healthcare centre and on residential units. Senior leaders and healthcare partners are reviewing waiting lists together and escalating cases through the regional governance I have described. I am grateful to the staff who continue to support men compassionately while specialist beds are found. |
Ministry of Justice | In progress |
| 2 |
The management of prisoner property, particularly on transfer between establishments, continues to cause many problems. A national policy and procedure has been in place for some time, but there is little or no improvement. When will the minister review the policy and ensure its implementation?
Repeated
Response
I recognise the frustration and anxiety caused when property goes missing. The Prisoner’s Property Policy Framework was revised and reissued on 17 November 2025, adding clearer guidance on sending excess property, handling laundry and completing cell clearance certificates, precisely the areas the Board has flagged as the most frequent points of failure. Senior leaders across the estate have been reminded of the essentials of sound property handling, including the importance of volumetric control so that what is within limits travels with the individual. Locally, HMP/YOI Brinsford has tightened processes at enhanced gate security and at reception, introduced streamlined clothing parcel arrangements and added weekend cover to issue property promptly. Encouragingly, your data show a reduction in property related applications to the Board compared with last year. We will keep the revised national framework under review, and I will expect the Governor and Prison Group Director to sustain and evidence further improvement. |
Ministry of Justice | In progress |
| 3 |
We have noted in our two previous reports that the ‘new’ heating system is not up to standard. When will the Prison Service commission an urgent review to find a better way of heating and controlling the heat within the prison?
Repeated
Response
Heating system performance and temperature control A bid to replace heat exchangers across the site has been made and is in the investment pipeline. This sits alongside wider works being prioritised across the estate on a risk-based basis. The establishment will continue to make operational adjustments to mitigate extremes while the bid progresses. |
HMPPS | In progress |
| 4 |
From the Board’s continued observations, the education contract is still not fit for purpose. It has always proved very difficult to hold the provider to account and to ensure that the prison gets good education provision. Not enough is being done to motivate or encourage prisoners to attend regularly or consistently. When will a review be commissioned to look at the education services provided to ensure they better meet the needs of prisoners at HMP Brinsford?
Response
Fitness of the education contract, motivation and attendance HMPPS is procuring a new Core Education contract for the West Midlands, scheduled to launch in September 2026. This contract will introduce a Governor commissioned curriculum tailored to the needs of HMP/YOI Brinsford’s population with consistent screening and assessment for functional skills, reading, English for Speakers of Other Languages and additional learning needs. Careers, Information and Guidance services have already been implemented and are delivered by the Growth Company supporting prisoners from reception through to release with induction, reviews, pre-release sessions, employer events and peer mentoring. Digital systems are being expanded to improve access to secure online content and to track progress more effectively. The Dynamic Purchasing System remains available to Governors to commission local, practical provision that meets the needs of their cohort. An evaluation and monitoring strategy is being developed to assess the impact of these changes on engagement and reoffending. In the meantime, the Governor continues to use local commissioning to provide vocational courses and practical learning opportunities that prisoners find motivating. |
HMPPS | In progress |
| 5 |
The overall condition of Brinsford is still very outdated and in a poor state of repair. Previous improvements and decoration were short-term solutions and completed to a poor standard. Brinsford still needs a great deal of investment to return it to an an acceptable standard. How - and when - will the Prison Service address this issue?
Repeated
Response
Condition of the prison and investment in infrastructure HMP/YOI Brinsford requires significant investment to bring accommodation and facilities up to an acceptable standard. A site wide fire safety project is in design and development and the national pipeline of works for HMP/YOI Brinsford includes upgrades to the building management system, replacement of the incoming water main and pipework, a site-wide closed circuit television upgrade, replacement of all old windows, remediation of V1 and V2 gates, heat-exchanger replacement and refurbishment of showers in Residential Units 2, 3 and 4. These proposals are underpinned by the condition surveys and will be prioritised against future capital budgets. While these major works progress, the prison continues to invest locally through the Clean, Rehabilitative, Enabling and Decent programme, which has improved cell standards and cleanliness and reduced graffiti through regular assurance checks. |
HMPPS | In progress |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Property during transfer | 1 | 11 |
| Property in establishment | 8 | 23 |
Related inspections & investigations
5 Jun 2023
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 2
· Respect 2
· Activity 1
· Release 3
Other reports for Brinsford
Report details
- Establishment
- Brinsford
- Type
- Prison · Cat YOI, Category C Resettlement
- Report year
- 2025
- Published
- 5 December 2025
- Responsible body
- HMP Brinsford
- Recommendations
- 5
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 2 — Concern
Population
| Population | 545 |
| Operational capacity | 577 |