Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the savings to Government from reduced prison officer numbers since 2010.

During the last decade, a major review of prison officer numbers was undertaken as part of the ‘Prison Unit Cost Programme (PUCP). The PUCP delivered annualised savings of £306 million (15%) over the period 2013-16 against a 2012/13 baseline.

Part of the PUCP involved benchmarking of staffing levels across public sector prisons to ensure more efficient delivery of a safe, decent and secure operating environment. Since that exercise was undertaken, prisons have seen their staffing numbers change and adapt in line with operational necessity. For example, staff changes brought about by reconfiguration of the estate and the increase in the number of prison places. £100m has also been invested in implementing the Offender Management in Custody model which added to staff numbers. All investment in additional staff has been aligned to improving outcomes.

The Prison Unit Cost Programme also led to the closure of smaller, more expensive prisons and the beginnings of the current programme of new prison builds.