The HM Inspectorate of Prisons is the publicly funded organisation responsible for checking and monitoring how well, or badly, prisons and other similar institutions are performing. It is independent of the MoJ, and often very critical of the Prison Service, but it does provide a balanced view of conditions in prison and the treatment of prisoners as well as raising questions regarding future policy. It is not led by “party politics”. Each year the chief inspector produces an annual report; a lengthy document summarising what progress or failings have occurred over the previous 12 months, and setting out targets for the future.
Every 2-3 years it visits all the prisons, the inspections are done by specialist teams and take 2-3 weeks. A report is then published on each prison and these individual reports can be found on the prisons home page ( go to a specific prison and you will find a tab called HMIP Report or Inspections).
In addition to these they publish special reports addressing areas of particular concern, such as thematic reviews on subjects like release on temporary licence (ROTL), prison drug strategies, or the care of specific groups of prisoners.
HMIP Annual Report 2025-26
The inspectors have released their latest annual report – this is Charlie Taylor’s sixth and final Annual Report as Chief Inspector of Prisons, having taken up the post during the Covid-19 pandemic. To read the full report click Annual Report 2025-26 (4.3 MB). In the accompanying press release the inspectorate said:
“The Chief Inspector of Prisons has urged the prison service to increase the amount of purposeful activity in prisons to help tackle widespread drug use and violence, including in those jails holding some of the most dangerous offenders.
In his final Annual Report, Charlie Taylor describes how long lock up times and poor regimes – which have barely improved since he first took up the role during the pandemic – are causing frustration, boredom and despair. This is fuelling a demand for drugs and contributing to high rates of violence and self-harm. Too many prisons are failing in their responsibility to make prisoners less likely to reoffend.
Drugs and purposeful activity
The widespread ingress of illicit drugs remains a grave threat to stability in prisons. In inspection reports published between April 2025 and March 2026, 41% of men and 38% of women reported that it was easy to get hold of drugs in their jail. Despite repeatedly raising concerns about security failings, inspections continued to find inadequately trained staff, broken CCTV, damaged netting and windows that were easily breached. Organised crime gangs were able to operate with impunity, with sophisticated drones delivering large packages of drugs, anabolic steroids and mobile phones to order.
Despite the prevalence of drugs, Mr Taylor said far too little was being done to reduce demand or to provide any meaningful incentives for prisoners to change their behaviour. Most prisoners spent long hours – sometimes more than 22 a day – locked in their cells with nothing to do. The number of education, work and training places was often far too low, and Mr Taylor warned that substantial cuts to education provision and a loss of specialist teaching staff during the year were only likely to exacerbate these problems.
Violence and Urgent Notifications
Violence had increased in two-thirds of the men’s prisons inspected and serious assaults had risen in 40%. Against a backdrop of high-profile attacks in the long-term high secure estate, the Chief Inspector found significant failings at Woodhill and Swaleside and issued Urgent Notifications for improvement. At the time of inspection these prisons were two of the most violent in the country, with a deeply concerning rise in serious assaults against prisoners and staff, many involving weapons. A further Urgent Notification was issued for HMP Pentonville, where prisoners arriving at the jail were held in chaotic, squalid conditions and men were held unlawfully beyond their release date; a fourth was issued for Oakhill Secure Training Centre.
Release planning and living conditions
The Chief Inspector’s annual report comes during the implementation of the Sentencing Act. Mr Taylor said it was disappointing that the emphasis had been almost entirely on managing the prison population rather than on effective rehabilitation. Almost 20% of prisoners were now being held on remand, and too many prisoners were released to no settled address, with many women in particular trapped in a repeating cycle of homelessness, substance addiction and poor mental health.
The report highlights continuing problems of deteriorating living conditions, often the result of ageing infrastructure, long delays to repairs, cramped cells and rodent infestations. Despite this, 70% of men said they were mostly treated with respect, although inspectors frequently saw officers avoiding interaction or failing to challenge poor behaviour on the wings.
Self-harm and mental health
Given the levels of boredom and frustration across the prison estate, self-harm rates had risen in a third of the men’s jails inspected, some dramatically: at Guys Marsh they had increased by 144% and at Northumberland they had doubled. Most prisoners faced long waits for mental health support and there were appalling delays in transferring seriously mentally unwell patients to secure hospitals, with one patient at Swaleside waiting 711 days. Self-harm rates in women’s jails remained eight times higher than in men’s.
Signs of progress
Despite the problems, there were some encouraging signs of progress. Some prisons had a strong rehabilitative focus, supporting men and women to overcome drug and alcohol addictions and using peer support to reduce violence. Others had made impressive efforts to create a culture of reading. In women’s prisons, inspectors found redesigned officer training and a shift away from punitive measures. Inspections of the immigration estate found generally decent treatment of detainees, with impressive work at Harmondsworth and Brook House removal centres, and men and women in court custody generally received high-quality care.
During my time as Chief Inspector of Prisons I have had the privilege of seeing what is possible under the leadership of some outstanding governors. Sadly, this year a lack of regular, purposeful activity for prisoners has been a key factor in a concerning rise in drug use and violence, as well as continued high rates of self-harm.
At a cost of £59k a year for each prison place the taxpayer has the right to expect more for their money. Now is the time to act and deliver much-needed, long-term change.”
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Key findings
The report covers the findings of 84 reports published between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, including inspections of 35 men’s prisons and five women’s prisons, and independent reviews of progress at 16 prisons.
- Men’s prisons: violence had increased in two-thirds of prisons inspected, and self-harm had risen in a third, with some very sharp rises.
- Urgent Notifications: four were issued during the year, for HMP Woodhill, HMP Pentonville, HMP Swaleside and Oakhill Secure Training Centre.
- Women’s prisons: broadly complimentary about their care, but self-harm rates remained eight times higher than in men’s prisons.
- Rehabilitation and release planning: almost 20% of prisoners were held on remand, and too many were released without a settled address.
- Children’s custody: the report covers three young offender institutions and three visits to Oakhill Secure Training Centre; more detailed annual findings on children’s custody are published later in the year.
- Immigration detention: generally decent treatment of detainees, with notable improvements at Harmondsworth and Brook House immigration removal centres.
- Court custody: men and women in court custody generally received high-quality care.