Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the use of the PAVA incapacitant spray in prisons.

PAVA spray is currently available to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service’s (HMPPS) National Tactical Response Group (NTRG - specialist national resources) to use tactically during planned interventions to aid the restoration of order and control.

In four prisons HMPPS have developed operational pilots to test the impact of issuing PAVA spay to general uniformed prison staff to use reactively when judged necessary. A methodology to test the impact of the introduction of PAVA has been developed.

The current NTRG policy and the pilot operational guidance will inform any future policy.