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1715175

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Vacancies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department have made a risk assessment of prison officer vacancies in the Long Term High Security Estate.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	24485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate via a number of internal governance forums, which assess the vacancy levels for individual prisons and across regions and functions, including the Long Term High Security Estate (LTHSE). Vacancies are one of a number of contributory factors that determine HMPPS' assessment of risk and stability within prisons. We will always ensure that prisons are sufficiently staffed to deliver safe and secure regimes. Where establishments feel that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, including because of vacancies, there are a number of ways they can maximise the use of their own resource and seek support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed nationally at Agency level. These include overtime payments and support via Detached Duty staff from other prisons.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing recruitment activity at all sites with a current or future need, including in the LTHSE. Nationally, we have seen a substantial improvement in the national staffing picture within prisons over the past year. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) between December 2022 and December 2023, and resignation rates have fallen over the same period. This is the result of significant efforts across the agency, including substantial increases in pay for staff, our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign, incentivized recruitment schemes where we incentivised applicants to relocate to ‘harder-to-staff’ sites, and the Prison Officer Alumni Network, where we have fast-tracked former staff back into the service.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/05/2024 11:24:44 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1715222

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Body Searches
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of prison officers who are searched upon entry to prison by an x-ray body scanner.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	24432
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>HM Prison and Probation Service does not currently have legal permission to use X-ray body scanners on staff working in prisons. As such, no prison officers are searched by an X-ray body scanner upon entry to prison.</p><p>All persons may be searched on entry to or within prisons, including prison staff. Arrangements for staff searching are set out in a prisons Local Security Strategy.</p><p>The vast majority of staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity which is often as a result of conditioning and manipulation by prisoners.</p><p>Through the Government’s £100 million Security Investment Programme (SIP) we have bolstered prison security, such as physical measures to stop illicit items from entering prisons. These include extending X-ray body scanners to all closed male prisons, and installing Enhanced Gate Security at 42 high risk sites with archway metal detectors and the regular use of sniffer dogs. We have also since installed X-ray baggage scanners at 49 establishments. Additionally, through SIP investment, we have introduced mobile phone blocking and detection capabilities. We have also expanded HMPPS’ Counter Corruption Unit to effectively support the resilience of our hardworking prison officers to coercion by criminals. Furthermore, we have enhanced our partnership working through the development of a Multi-Agency Response to Serious Organised Crime.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 08:59:18 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1715225

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs and Mobile Phones
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the illegal entry of (a) drugs and (b) communication devices into prisons by prison staff.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	24433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>HM Prison &amp; Probation Service has a zero-tolerance policy of smuggling of contraband into prisons, such as drugs and mobile phones, including by staff. The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated.</p><p>We are determined to recruit the right people into our frontline positions, which is why they are subject to personnel security vetting which includes criminal record checks during the application process. Before taking up post, new recruits receive specific training to support them and ensure their resilience to corruption.</p><p>The £100 million Security Investment Programme (SIP) funded Enhanced Gate Security in 42 high risk sites, meaning we have counter-measures in place to detect and disrupt any staff attempting to smuggle contraband into prisons. The routine searching of staff, use of drug sniffer dogs and metal detectors acts as a deterrent against conveyance. SIP also funded mobile phone blocking and detection capabilities and drug detection units.</p><p>Appropriate action is taken towards the minority of staff who engage in corrupt activity. Whenever staff are suspected of wrongdoing, HMPPS’ Counter-Corruption Unit pursues disciplinary action or criminal convictions, working closely with the police.</p><p>We have recruited over 100 new staff into HMPPS’ Counter-Corruption Unit, which proactively detects, disrupts, and deters activities of those suspected of wrongdoing and supports prisons and probation services with specialist staff working alongside the police to support their investigations. Regional Prevent teams are dedicated to building staff resilience to corruption through training, awareness-raising and individual support.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 13:56:19 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1715226

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison (a) officers and (b) other staff have been (i) investigated and (ii) dismissed in relation to (a) the conveyance of drugs and (b) conducting inappropriate relationships with prisoners in Wales in each year since 2019.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	24434
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>In each year since 2019, there have been 2 staff in Welsh prisons who were investigated or recommended for dismissal for trafficking through internal disciplinary procedures.</p><p>Data relating to staff investigated or recommended for dismissal for having an inappropriate relationship with prisoners/ex-prisoners is held and is provided in table 1 below. The annual HMPPS staff equalities report covers staffing information, including investigations and conduct &amp; disciplinary action, and the latest publication covers data up to 31 March 2023. This data does not include criminal investigations of prison officers or staff by law enforcement.</p><p><strong>Table 1: HMPPS staff in Public Sector Prisons<sup>1</sup> in Wales who were (i) investigated<sup>2</sup> and (ii) recommended for dismissal<sup>3,4 </sup>for having an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner/ex-prisoner<sup>5</sup>, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23<sup>6(p)</sup></strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Financial year</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Band 3-5 prison officers<sup>7</sup></strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>All other prison staff</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Headcount of staff investigated</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Headcount of staff recommended for dismissal</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Headcount of staff investigated</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Headcount of staff recommended for dismissal</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes</p><p>1. Excludes any privately managed prisons.</p><p>2. Figures relate to formal investigations with an outcome recorded in the year. Staff subject to at least one investigation that was concluded during the year.</p><p>3. Conduct and discipline cases are defined as where a penalty has been imposed on a member of HMPPS staff for a reason of conduct. Staff with at least one conduct and discipline case concluded during the year.</p><p>4. A dismissal case is defined as where at least one of the charges relating to an individual is recommended for dismissal. Information on the outcomes of any appeal is not included.</p><p>5. Allegations which meet a criminal threshold will be referred to the Police for investigation. If a criminal justice outcome is secured, this will result in a summary dismissal as per PSI 10/2016 Conduct and Discipline and will not be recorded against a specific ‘type’ of misconduct in the Conduct and Discipline data. 6. Financial year runs from 01 April to 31 March. Latest published data on Investigations is up to 31 March 2023. 7. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.</p><p>~ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values of 2 or fewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018.</p><p>(p) Provisional data. There may be minor changes to figures in future due to additional data being recorded on the reporting system.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 13:58:39 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1715227

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Health Services: Prisoners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve response times to prisoner medical emergencies.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	24435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>Prison governors are responsible for ensuring that their establishments respond promptly and appropriately to medical emergencies, and all prison staff must be aware of their responsibilities for responding to a medical emergency (including resuscitation, and ligature removal) and of the local procedures in place to support a streamlined response.</p><p>Responses to medical emergencies in prisons are undertaken, and monitored, locally by both prison and healthcare staff, and vary in the degree of seriousness and the level of medical intervention that is required.</p><p>The time and type (‘Code Blue’ / ‘Code Red’) of a medical emergency is recorded by prison service staff when it is reported to them by telephone or via radio, and this will initiate a response which will include on-site NHS-commissioned healthcare staff and/or first-aid trained prison staff. Staff will assess what intervention is needed and determine whether hospital treatment is required.</p><p>Prison staff will arrange for an ambulance to attend, if needed, and escort it to the nearest, safest point of access to the patient. Arrival and departure times of ambulances are recorded locally. All such instances, including response times, are discussed between prison and healthcare staff. Depending on the seriousness of the emergency, this will be either as part of a full debrief or, on the following day, as part of the regular daily reflection on the previous day’s occurrences.</p><p>While arrival and departure times of ambulances are recorded by prisons, the responsibility for their response times lies with the NHS, and, therefore, any questions related to this element of emergency responses should be directed to the Department for Health and Social Care.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 13/05/2024 08:53:39 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1715228

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of drug-related deaths in prisons in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	24436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>We have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in all our prisons.</p><p>We have an ambitious 10-year Drug Strategy, which sets out our cross-government plan to address illegal drug use. It is underpinned by a record level of additional investment, as part of which the Ministry of Justice is rolling out a range of interventions, including in prisons in Wales, to get offenders off drugs and into recovery. These include:</p><ul><li>Recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons, to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs.</li><li>Increasing the number of prisons with an Incentivised Substance-Free Living unit from 25 in summer 2022 to 80 now.</li></ul><p>Alongside the physical deterrents, prisons in Wales have a drug and alcohol intervention service which aims to address the causes of drug and alcohol-related usage and reduce the risk of harm. This is achieved through various means including opiate replacement treatments, psychosocial groups, and counselling.</p><p>Following the most recent deaths, HMPPS in Wales has taken further steps, including:</p><ul><li>Issuing to prisoners leaflets and information from Public Health partners on the increased dangers of current strains of synthetic opioids.</li><li>Further control measures on prisoners suspected of moving drugs within the prison.</li><li>Reviewing recent overdoses that did not cause deaths, as well as trends in the issuing of Naloxone.</li></ul> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 15:37:33 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1715310

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Fires
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison cell fires there were, broken down by institution, in each year since 2015.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	24357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>The attached table shows the number of fire incidents in each prison in each year since 2016. Information about fire incidents before 2016 is not available, because the records, which were held locally, have been destroyed in line with our retention policy. In 2016, a new centralised national system for recording fire incidents was introduced across the prison estate.</p><p>The overwhelming majority of the cell fires in prisons are classified as small and are quickly dealt with by staff. All prisons have an Arson Reduction Strategy which includes measures for managing prisoners who are known to present a risk of fire setting: these measures include strategic cell location, and control of access to ignition sources and combustible materials. In 2024-25, H M Prison &amp; Probation Service will introduce an ignition-free Safer Vape Pen to replace the existing product, which is the source of approximately 80 per cent of fires set.</p><p>All operational staff receive training in responding to fire incidents, including the use of specialist safety and firefighting equipment. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 08:46:05 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar attachment 1 file name 2024-05-13 PQ 24357 table.docx title PQ_24357_table
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1715321

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Orders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have taken part in his Department's Intensive Supervision Courts pilot.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	24368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>In June 2023, we launched three Intensive Supervision Courts to divert offenders away from short custodial sentences and tackle the root causes of their offending, two at Liverpool and Teesside Crown Courts for offenders with substance misuse needs, and one focused on female offenders at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. As of March 2024, 84 offenders have engaged with the Intensive Supervision Court pilot. These pilot sites are legislated to sentence for 18 months and are subject to a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/05/2024 08:47:04 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1715322

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of drug incidents in prison by (a) drug type and (b) class since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	24369
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>Drug finds are classified as incidents in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service published data. The number of incidents of drug finds, broken down by drug type can be found at the following link: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F64c143fad4051a00145a9422%2F8.__Finds_drug_type_data_tool.xlsx&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJon.Mitchell%40justice.gov.uk%7C095262a995964d456d5908dc6a948d8b%7Cc687472871e641fea9e12e8c36776ad8%7C0%7C0%7C638502433456907288%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=KMlUSByXxH7Mt1lczLF%2BqrPjlPVFhP8uc%2FbQjyWmINI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143fad4051a00145a9422/8.__Finds_drug_type_data_tool.xlsx</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Please note the following caveats:</p><p>(1) It is important to consider with incidents of finds in prisons, that an increase in numbers may be as a result of more items being found, although not necessarily attributable to any one particular security counter-measure, rather than more items being present in prisons.</p><p>(2) More than one type of drug can be found in a single incident, therefore the sum of the drug types found will be higher than the total incidents.</p><p>(3) A new incident type was introduced in October 2015 to improve reporting of finds incidents. This included the introduction of several new drug types so the classifications are not directly comparable prior to this period. Buprenorphine, Gabapentin, Methadone, Pregabalin, Psychoactive substances, Steroids and Tramadol were all added during 2015-16, Benzodiazepines were added during 2016-17, and Ketamine was added during 2021-22. As a consequence the contents of the ‘other’ line will be different throughout the series</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying drugs that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 24370 question first answered 13/05/2024 08:44:40 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1715323

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown by substance type of the number of finds of controlled substances in prison since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	24370
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>Drug finds are classified as incidents in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service published data. The number of incidents of drug finds, broken down by drug type can be found at the following link: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F64c143fad4051a00145a9422%2F8.__Finds_drug_type_data_tool.xlsx&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJon.Mitchell%40justice.gov.uk%7C095262a995964d456d5908dc6a948d8b%7Cc687472871e641fea9e12e8c36776ad8%7C0%7C0%7C638502433456907288%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=KMlUSByXxH7Mt1lczLF%2BqrPjlPVFhP8uc%2FbQjyWmINI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143fad4051a00145a9422/8.__Finds_drug_type_data_tool.xlsx</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Please note the following caveats:</p><p>(1) It is important to consider with incidents of finds in prisons, that an increase in numbers may be as a result of more items being found, although not necessarily attributable to any one particular security counter-measure, rather than more items being present in prisons.</p><p>(2) More than one type of drug can be found in a single incident, therefore the sum of the drug types found will be higher than the total incidents.</p><p>(3) A new incident type was introduced in October 2015 to improve reporting of finds incidents. This included the introduction of several new drug types so the classifications are not directly comparable prior to this period. Buprenorphine, Gabapentin, Methadone, Pregabalin, Psychoactive substances, Steroids and Tramadol were all added during 2015-16, Benzodiazepines were added during 2016-17, and Ketamine was added during 2021-22. As a consequence the contents of the ‘other’ line will be different throughout the series</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying drugs that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 24369 question first answered 13/05/2024 08:44:40 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh