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1020625

registered interest
date	06/12/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the different categories of assaults that occur in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	199898
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>We publish extensive data about assaults. The most recent can be seen in <em>Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2017</em>, at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2018</a>.</p><p>That spreadsheet includes breakdowns by seriousness, assailant/victim type, weapons used and injuries sustained, as well as various demographic and offence and sentence-related factors. It also provides figures for each prison.</p><p> </p><p>In order to improve safety, we have recruited 4,300 new prison officers over the last two years, with 1,400 more due to begin training soon. We are investing an extra £70 million to improve safety, security and decency, and we are equipping officers with PAVA incapacitant spray to help prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners when dealing with violent incidents. We are also tackling the drugs that we know are fuelling much of the violence in custody. This includes spending on new x-ray scanners, drug-detection dogs, phone-blocking technology and dedicated search teams.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government supported the recent Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 11/12/2018 13:39:27 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1020626

registered interest
date	06/12/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2018 to Question 186964 on Prisons: Crimes of Violence and Self-harm, how many incidents of violence per 100 prisoners there were in each prison in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	199899
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>Figures for the rates of all violent incidents can be obtained by adding the figures given in the Answer to Question 186964 for rates of assaults on staff to those for rates of assaults on prisoners. In a limited number of cases an incident will have involved assault on both a member of staff and a prisoner, so those totals may slightly exceed the totals that would be produced by using the published numbers of assaults for the years in question.</p><p> </p><p>In order to improve safety, we have recruited 4,300 new prison officers over the last two years, with 1,400 more due to begin training soon. We are investing an extra £70 million to improve safety, security and decency, and we are equipping officers with PAVA incapacitant spray to help prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners when dealing with violent incidents. We are also tackling the drugs that we know are fuelling much of the violence in custody. This includes spending on new x-ray scanners, drug-detection dogs, phone-blocking technology and dedicated search teams.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government supported the recent Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 11/12/2018 16:46:14 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1020234

registered interest
date	05/12/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the funding allocated to his Department in Budget 2018 will be used to tackle violence in prisons.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	199476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>We have committed to spending £30m to make improvements to the safety and decency of our prison estate and address the drivers of violence in prisons. We will do this through enhancing security and tackling drugs and continue our programme of decency upgrades. This latest investment is on top of the £40m announced over the summer, meaning a total of £70m is already being directed to tackling drugs and violence, and improving the basic conditions of our prisons.</p><p> </p><p>But the Foundation of managing violence in prisons is of course our front line operational staff, whose work and service constitutes approximately £812m of our budget.*</p><p> </p><p>* Front line operational staff defined as public sector Band 3 prison officers, Band 4 specialist officers and Band 5 Custodial Managers, across England and Wales, includes adults and youth prisons.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 11/12/2018 16:48:28 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart previous answer version 91027 answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1019890

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) prisoners and (b) prison staff injured in violent incidents in prisons in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	198926
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The latest figures for assaults on prisoners and on prison staff can be seen in the Safety in Custody summary tables at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2018</a>.</p><p> </p><p>While we collect details of the injuries sustained, I regret that it will not be possible in the time available to separate those sustained by prisoners from those sustained by staff. I will write to the Hon Member as soon as the more detailed figures become available.</p><p> </p><p>To improve safety, we have recruited 4,300 new prison officers over the last two years, with 1,400 more due to begin training soon. We are investing an extra £70 million to improve safety, security and decency, and we are equipping officers with PAVA incapacitant spray to help prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners when dealing with violent incidents. We are also tackling the drugs that we know are fuelling much of the violence in custody. This includes spending on new x-ray scanners, drug-detection dogs, phone-blocking technology and dedicated search teams.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government supported the recent Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 10/12/2018 15:41:32 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

995571

registered interest
date	26/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
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 tackle the increasing level of violence in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	184426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2018 answer text <p>We have invested in over 3,000 additional staff in order to deliver consistent, purposeful regimes, and we are providing training to both new and existing staff to equip them to take on the new key worker role, in which they will provide more effective challenge and support to prisoners. We have introduced a new case management system for violent prisoners, known as the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan.</p><p>Our prison staff work incredibly hard and we are under no illusions about the challenges they face. We are taking urgent action to make prisons safer, and assaults on our staff will never be tolerated. That is why we are working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure successful prosecutions of those who assault them. It is also why the Government supported the recently passed Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers. But the key to this must be consistent management of prisoner behaviour with clear expectations.</p><p>We are taking further measures to protect our staff, including investing in 5,600 body-worn cameras and in rigid-bar handcuffs. Early next year we will begin to equip every prison officer in the adult male prison estate with PAVA incapacitant spray. PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop. It will be deployed only in prisons that have rolled out key workers, and in which staff have been properly trained, because we are clear that it is building relationships between prisoners and staff that provides the key to reducing violence in prisons.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 31/10/2018 14:31:58 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

992744

registered interest
date	22/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reductions in the number of (a) prison officers and (b) experienced prison officers on the level of violence in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	182263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2018 answer text <p>The causes of violence in prison are complex, but we know that the skills and availability of staff play a critical role in maintaining order. We have invested in over 3,000 additional staff in order to deliver consistent, purposeful regimes, and providing training to both new and existing staff to equip them to take on the new key worker role, in which they will provide more effective challenge and support to prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Our prison staff work incredibly hard and we are under no illusions about the challenges they face. We are taking urgent action to make prisons safer, and assaults on our staff will never be tolerated. That is why we are working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure successful prosecutions of those who assault them. It is also why the Government supported the recently passed Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking further measures to protect our staff, including investing in 5,600 body-worn cameras and in rigid-bar handcuffs. Early next year we will begin to equip every prison officer in the adult male prison estate with PAVA incapacitant spray. PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop. It will be deployed only in prisons that have rolled out key workers, and in which staff have been properly trained.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 25/10/2018 13:15:26 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

988795

registered interest
date	16/10/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
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 protect and support prison staff from abuse.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Hallam
tabling member printed	Jared O'Mara
uin	180299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2018 answer text <p>Our prison staff work incredibly hard and we are under no illusions about the challenges they face. We are taking urgent action to make prisons safer, and assaults on our hardworking staff will never be tolerated. That is why we are working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure successful prosecutions of those who assault them. It is also why the Government supported the recently passed Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking further measures to protect our staff, including investing in 5,600 body-worn cameras and in rigid-bar handcuffs. Early next year we will begin to equip every prison officer in the adult male prison estate with PAVA incapacitant spray. PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop. It will be deployed only in prisons that have rolled out the key worker scheme, and in which staff have been properly trained.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 24/10/2018 16:52:26 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4661 label Biography information for Jared O'Mara

971491

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the underlying causes of violence within HM Prisons Service; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	172601
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2018 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has recently published a summary of the evidence base from a number of countries on prison violence. This examines evidence of which prisoners are most likely to commit violence, when and where incidents are likely to occur, and what the strongest drivers of prison violence are. The study concluded that in addition to imported characteristics specific to individual prisoners, lower rates of assault are associated with legitimate and consistent regimes, better physical conditions, together with greater availability of meaningful activity within the prison. The study is available on GOV.UK at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-prison-violence-a-rapid-evidence-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-prison-violence-a-rapid-evidence-assessment</a></p><p> </p><p>Our assessment of the increase in violence in prisons in England and Wales in recent years is that key drivers in our own system include poor staff-prisoner relationships in some prisons, lack of purposeful activity, and changes in the nature of the illicit economy in prisons (for example the significant increase in the use of psychoactive substances). We are taking significant steps to address these drivers.</p><p> </p><p>Across the prison estate, we are improving staff-prisoner relationships and regimes through recruiting an extra 3,500 staff and using these extra numbers to move to a new key worker model. This model will enable prison officers to mentor, challenge and support a small caseload of prisoners. The increased staffing levels will also support prisons to run full and consistent regimes. We are working to restrict supply of drugs, reduce demand and build recovery through a Drugs Taskforce working with law enforcement and health partners across government. The Taskforce is developing a national Drug Strategy, underpinned by advice and guidance that will support the whole of the estate.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to these estate-wide measures, we are investing £10 million in 10 prisons to trial new approaches to improve standards and security, to serve as a model of excellence for the rest of the estate to follow. Under the programme, governors at each prison will be provided with new scanners capable of detecting packages inside bodies, and sniffer dogs trained to detect new psychoactive substances. Further investment will go into repairing basic infrastructure such as broken windows. Management will train and support staff to set the highest expectations for prisoners and challenge disruptive and violent behaviour fairly, consistently and firmly to restore order and control.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 13/09/2018 16:10:57 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

907100

registered interest
date	18/05/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to reduce the number of assaults on staff and prisoners in Her Majesty’s Prison Service.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	145547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/05/2018 answer text <p>Assaults on our hardworking staff and prisoners will not be tolerated. We are taking urgent action to make our prisons safer and address the levels of violence by recruiting extra staff and giving staff the tools to help them reduce violence, including rolling out body worn cameras and trialling the use of PAVA spray.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing £100 million to boost the front line and have surpassed our target to recruit 2,500 extra prison officers. This increase will allow us to introduce a new key worker role in all prisons to support better staff-prisoner relationships.</p><p> </p><p>We are also supporting the Honourable Member for Rhondda’s Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which will double the maximum sentence for an assault on an emergency worker, including prison officers.</p><p> </p><p>We have implemented a new drug testing programme and are taking urgent and decisive action to tackle the threat of illicit mobile phones including detection dogs, body scanners and intelligence-led searches. We have invested £2 million in proven and reliable technology to detect illicit items, and we are also taking decisive steps to tackle the use of drones as a supply route for organised criminals to bring contraband into prisons.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 29/05/2018 16:29:41 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

905598

registered interest
date	16/05/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of recorded assaults on prison staff resulted in a prosecution in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	144866
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/05/2018 answer text <p>We are taking urgent action to make prisons safer. Assaults on our hard-working staff will never be tolerated. Prisoners should expect to face sanctions and, for serious assaults, be investigated by the police. We have invested in 5,600 body-worn cameras to help protect our prison staff, and we are working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute prisoners who assault our staff. We are also supporting the Honourable Member for Rhondda’s Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which will double the maximum sentence for an assault on an emergency worker, including prison officers.</p><p> </p><p>Data about assaults by prisoners, including those on prison staff, is published in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. The figures for January to March 2018 are scheduled to be published on 26 July 2018. The most recent statistics were published on 26 April and cover assaults to December 2017 and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</p><p> </p><p>Information as to whether assaults on prison staff result in a prosecution, conviction and sentence is not collated centrally. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 144867 question first answered 25/05/2018 13:33:59 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies