Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the National Statistics entitled Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales: Deaths in Prison Custody to December 2023 Assaults and Self-harm to September 2023, published on 25 January 2024, how many and what proportion of assaults on prison staff took place in privately-operated prisons.

We publish the number of assaults against prison staff, as part of our Safety in Custody statistics, in Table 8e of the summary tables, available at the following link: Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Totals for those occurring in privately-operated prisons can be seen at row 160, with the grand total in row 162. While staff assault rates remain below pre-pandemic levels, we continue to ensure all our hardworking staff are protected and will never tolerate violence against our hardworking prison officers. Prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions and will be dealt with swiftly and effectively, which includes further time behind bars.

We are providing staff in the adult male estate with a personal safety package which includes SPEAR personal safety training, in order to protect staff and prisoners from instances of serious violence. We also continue to provide targeted support to prisons on CSIP (Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan) implementation where needed. CSIP provides a framework for managing violence that is centred around the prisoner and their specific needs to help them manage and move away from violent behaviours.