Prisoners at Winson Green are being moved north to make way for inmates from the South East of England, according to a new report.

The report by the Independent Monitoring Board expressed concern at the “disruptive” practice of moving Midlands inmates to ease overcrowding in other jails.

Inmates are often moved when they have a short time left to serve but board chairman John Smith said the practice made it harder to retain family links and could affect rehabilitation.

Mr Smith added that the movement of some of the prison’s 1,450 inmates made it hard for families to visit them. Other issues raised in the annual report include the number of foreign nationals being held at Winson Green after their sentences have ended.

The IMB found that of the 227 foreign nationals in the prison as of June 30 last year, 23 had not been removed from prison within a month of completing their sentences. One inmate, whose sentence expired in August 2006, was only released last September.