Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Service Pay Review Body Summary of England and Wales Visits 2019, published in February 2020, what steps he is taking to address the finding in that report that there was an overall picture of low morale with a feeling that the HM Prison and Probation Service did not value its staff.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are giving staff the tools they need to do the job safely – rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, and investing £100 million, as part of a wider £2.75 billion package, to fund tough airport-style security that will clamp down on the illicit items which fuel violence and hinder rehabilitation.
The Ministry of Justice is actively engaged with the Prison Service Pay Review Body in support of their evidence gathering process and we look forward to receiving their considered recommendations later this year. To maintain the integrity of this independent process we will not be commenting on any material that will not be formally published. The document referred to is not a published document.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Service Pay Review Body Summary of England and Wales Visits 2019, published in February 2020, what steps he is taking to address the finding in that report that some prisons were struggling with the roll out of the Key Worker scheme due to staffing levels, and a high non-effective rate, which had delayed the associated roll-out of the use of PAVA spray in prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are giving staff the tools they need to do the job safely – rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, and investing £100 million, as part of a wider £2.75 billion package, to fund tough airport-style security that will clamp down on the illicit items which fuel violence and hinder rehabilitation.
The Ministry of Justice is actively engaged with the Prison Service Pay Review Body in support of their evidence gathering process and we look forward to receiving their considered recommendations later this year. To maintain the integrity of this independent process we will not be commenting on any material that will not be formally published. The document referred to is not a published document.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers were equipped with PAVA spray on (a) 1 January 2019, (b) 1 April 2019, (c) 1 July 2019 (d) 1 October 2019 and (e) 1 January 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
PAVA spray is being provided to all band 3-5 staff in the adult male estate and it is currently being rolled out across the estate. We are able to provide the number of establishments who have completed their training activity and therefore in a position to issue PAVA to their staff.
1 January 2019, 4 pilot prisons
1 April 2019, 4 pilot prisons
1 July 2019 4 pilot prisons
1 October 2019, 6 establishments (inclusive of the 4 pilot prisons)
1 January 2020, 7 establishments (inclusive of the 4 pilot prisons)
We are giving prison officers body worn cameras, rigid bar handcuffs and PAVA spray to help them do their job more safely.
Staff need appropriate training to use PAVA and only prisons who have rolled out the key worker scheme – which is vital in building relationships between offenders and staff – will receive it.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers were equipped with rigid-bar handcuffs on (a) 1 January 2019, (b) 1 April 1 2019, (c) 1 July 2019, (d) 1 October 2019 and (e) 1 January 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Rigid Bar handcuffs are being provided to all band 3-5 prison officers in the adult male estate. Establishments will be required to train their staff prior to issuing them therefore exact figures of staff equipped is not available. Instead we are able to provide the number of establishments who have commenced their training for the dates requested:
1 January 2019, None
1 April 1 2019, None
1 July 2019, None
1 October 2019: 2 establishments commenced training
1 January 2020: 16 establishments actively delivering training
Rigid bar handcuffs are only one of the tools we are giving prison officers to help them do their job more safely; others include body worn cameras and PAVA spray.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 550 on Prisons: Fires, where the information on referrals for fire-related events in prison is held.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The department records all fires in prison on an electronic national database that comprises information specific to the circumstances surrounding each individual event. As part of this, prison fire-related referrals to the police are recorded and are held centrally by HMPPS. However, as confirmed in the response to 550, Crown Prosecution Service referrals are not held centrally by HMPPS because such referrals are made by the police. The requested data may, therefore, be held by individual police forces.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 550 on Prisons: Fires, why the number of referrals for fire related events in prison is not held centrally.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The department records all fires in prison on an electronic national database that comprises information specific to the circumstances surrounding each individual event. As part of this, prison fire-related referrals to the police are recorded and are held centrally by HMPPS. However, as confirmed in the response to 550, Crown Prosecution Service referrals are not held centrally by HMPPS because such referrals are made by the police. The requested data may, therefore, be held by individual police forces.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 550 on Prisons: Fires, what information his Department holds on fire related events in prison.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The department records all fires in prison on an electronic national database that comprises information specific to the circumstances surrounding each individual event. As part of this, prison fire-related referrals to the police are recorded and are held centrally by HMPPS. However, as confirmed in the response to 550, Crown Prosecution Service referrals are not held centrally by HMPPS because such referrals are made by the police. The requested data may, therefore, be held by individual police forces.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 293577 on Prisons: Fires, how many CPS referrals for prosecution in 2018 involved fire events in prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We do not hold the number of referrals for fire related events in prison centrally and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate costs
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of CPS referrals for prosecution involved fire events in prisons in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We do not hold the number of prisoners charged and prosecuted for arson centrally and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) staff and (b) prisoner (i) injuries, (ii) hospitalisations and (iii) fatalities involved fire events in prisons in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The information requested is shown in the table below. Information for 2015 is not available due to system changes and identifying criteria.
| Prisoner Injuries | Prisoner Fatalities | Prisoner Hospitalisation | Staff Injuries | Staff Fatalities | Staff Hospitalisation |
|
2016 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 4 |
|
2017 | 64 | 0 | 30 | 52 | 0 | 33 |
|
2018 | 51 | 2 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 3 |
|
2019 | 29 | 1 | 27 | 18 | 0 | 3 |
|
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely and appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. This includes recruiting an additional 4,366 prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019 and we are investing £100 million, on top of the £70 million we have already invested, to make our prisons safer.
Independent investigations of fatalities are undertaken by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman. HM Prison and Probation Service is absolutely committed to controlling any form of ignition sources and combustible materials in prisons.