Prison Education Cuts Fueling Drug Use, Self-Harm, and Violence, Warns Watchdog
A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales highlights that significant reductions in prison education and training budgets are contributing to increased drug use, self-harm, and violence within prisons. These findings come amid frontline education spending cuts of up to 50% in some facilities.
Charlie Taylor, who will step down as HM Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales in the autumn after six years in the role, issued a stark warning regarding the consequences of these cuts. He emphasized the need for authorities to closely monitor the release of thousands of prisoners scheduled later this year.
Despite commitments from Labour leader Keir Starmer to enhance "access to learning" in his general election manifesto, some prisons have reduced frontline education spending drastically. Taylor noted that long lock-up periods and inadequate prison regimes have seen little improvement since the onset of the pandemic.
“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 £59,000 a year for each prison place, the taxpayer has the right to expect more for their money.”
Taylor attributed the rise in drug use and violence to despair and boredom stemming from cuts to education and training. He provided an example of a prison where the number of teachers dropped from 22 to nine, illustrating the scale of reductions in educational provision.
“And it’s some basic services that are unfortunately being cut. We know, for example, that many prisoners can’t read properly. We know that some of them don’t have the very basic maths and numeracy that they need in order to be able to be successful when they come out … Since the pandemic, things have got worse,”
Taylor expressed concern about public safety as thousands of short-term prisoners are due for release under the Sentencing Act provisions.
“Public protection arrangements are not as good as we would want to see. Liaison between services within the prison and within the community are not as good as we want to see.
“A lot of prisoners are going to be going out from jails in September, October, November. And we will watch very closely what the effect of that is in terms of reoffending rates and risk to the public,”
Inspection reports published between April 2025 and March 2026 revealed that 41% of male prisoners and 38% of female prisoners reported that obtaining drugs in their facilities was easy. Taylor noted that criminal gangs are increasingly using drones to deliver contraband packages directly to prisons.
He described how prison drug dealers have employed drones to transport items such as Allen keys and super-strength glue, enabling prisoners to remove and replace window frames to facilitate the entry of larger drug packages.
“In one particular jail, for example, Allen keys were coming in with Gorilla Glue. That was so prisoners could unscrew the window, the whole frame of the window, be able to receive a package, then put it back before people would even notice that the contraband had got into the prison,”
Violence has escalated in two-thirds of the men’s prisons inspected, with serious assaults rising by 40%, according to Taylor.
The annual report also highlighted "appalling" delays in transferring seriously mentally ill patients to secure hospitals, citing a case at HMP Swaleside where a patient waited 711 days for transfer.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of Nacro, a social justice charity, responded to the report:
“This report should be a wake-up call. Too many prisons have become places where people are locked in their cells for hours on end while organised crime gangs use drones to flood prisons with drugs, fuelling violence and fear. This isn’t an environment where rehabilitation can succeed.”
Prisons Minister Lord Timpson acknowledged the report’s identification of "serious challenges" but pointed out that 76% of recent prison inspections showed improvement.
“Two years ago, the prison system was on the verge of collapse. Today, we’ve stabilised it, building thousands of prison places, reforming sentencing and investing heavily in security so prisons cut crime and create fewer victims.
“There is much more to do, which is why we’ve also asked former Conservative home secretary Amber Rudd to lead an independent review.”
