Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to provide the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman with an unredacted copy of the Volume 5 manual showing the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint authorised restraint techniques to assist her investigations of complaints about the use of such techniques with child prisoners.

The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. Restraint should only be used as a last resort, where there is a risk of harm to self or others, and no other form of intervention is possible or appropriate.

The Ministry of Justice has assessed that routine disclosure of the un-redacted version of chapter five of the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) manual could potentially threaten the security of establishments holding young people. We maintain our current position which is not to disclose un-redacted copies of any part of this manual.