Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106980 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, whether the drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents include provisions for prison staff to have access to a single whistleblowing telephone hotline through which to raise health and safety concerns.

Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison and the response was largely positive with trade unions supportive of the new policy and supporting guidance documents.

The new Raising a Concern policy and supporting guidance documents include provision for staff in prisons to access the Integrity Hotline which allows staff to raise any concerns they may have about the workplace or their own wellbeing. HMPPS has effective and reliable systems for reporting and recording adverse security, and health and safety incidents. This allows staff to voice any concerns, and for health and safety teams to monitor and act where necessary.

Trade union consultation has now been completed and the new policy is now going through the separate Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service policy governance processes. Once these processes are complete the policy will be published, which is expected to be in January 2021.