The revelations come after a recent inspection of HMP Spring Hill.
The facility, the oldest men’s open prison in the UK, was inspected over a 10 day period in August.
Assessors said positive findings - such as a third of prisoners being in full-time employment outside the prison and low rates of violence - were "offset by several significant concerns".
These included the poor condition of much older accommodation which were "barely fit for purpose", disappointing cleanliness standards and dirty, uncared for communal areas.
The report also found that the smell of drugs was "evident" during the inspection, with prisoners telling them it was easy to obtain drugs and mobile phones and positive drug testing rates remained too high. They also observed "too few organised enrichment activities, limited opportunities for prisoners to develop hobbies and interests, and inconsistent access to key facilities such as the gym, library and chaplaincy".
HMP Spring Hill's previous inspection was in 2022, with the full findings of the most recent report available here (external).
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