Charlie Taylor, HM chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, has warned that “brutal” cuts to education and training are driving an increase in drug use, self-harm and violence in prisons. His final annual report, published ahead of his departure in October, found that frontline spending on education has fallen by up to 50% in some jails, despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to improve access to learning.
Taylor noted that long lock-up times and poor regimes have barely improved since the pandemic. “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,” he said. He pointed to one jail where the number of teachers fell from 22 to nine, and highlighted that many prisoners lack basic literacy and numeracy skills needed for rehabilitation.
The report also raised concerns about the impending release of thousands of short-term prisoners under the Sentencing Act, warning that public protection arrangements are inadequate. “We will watch very closely what the effect of that is in terms of reoffending rates and risk to the public,” Taylor said during a briefing with journalists.
In inspections published between April 2025 and March 2026, 41% of men and 38% of women reported easy access to drugs. Taylor described how organised crime gangs use drones to fly in Allen keys and super-strength glue, allowing prisoners to remove windows to receive drug packages. Violence increased in two-thirds of men’s prisons inspected, and serious assaults rose in 40%.
The report also detailed “appalling” delays in transferring seriously mentally ill prisoners to secure hospitals, with one inmate at HMP Swaleside waiting 711 days. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the charity Nacro, called the findings a “wake-up call”, stating that prisons have become environments where rehabilitation cannot succeed.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson acknowledged “serious challenges” but noted that 76% of recent inspections showed improvement. He pointed to government efforts to stabilise the system, including building new places and reforming sentencing, and to an independent review led by former Conservative home secretary Amber Rudd.
