Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Ministry of Justice

Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Norris Excerpts
Tuesday 12th March 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rory Stewart Portrait Rory Stewart
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I absolutely undertake to look again at the traffic assessment and to sit down with my right hon. Friend to examine it in more detail together.

Alex Norris Portrait Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)
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Previous cost cutting in the Prison Service such as reducing staff has proved to be a false economy. In Nottingham Prison, the prisons Minister has needed a surge of staff to try to stabilise what had become a very violent and dangerous prison. Can I have an assurance from him that, once things improve at Nottingham, those staff will not be withdrawn again?

Rory Stewart Portrait Rory Stewart
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Some of the staff at Nottingham, to which the hon. Gentleman is referring, have come from other establishments in other parts of the country, but when they return they will be replaced because we must ensure that Nottingham is fully staffed. That is essential particularly in order to continue with delivery of the key worker programmes so that each prison officer can be paired with six prisoners. That will be vital to getting violence under control in Nottingham.