Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illicit mobile phones were found in prisons in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 2019.

Mobile phones are a key enabler for prisoners to engage in criminality which impacts into both prisons and the community including drug supply, violence and harassment of victims and witnesses.

MoJ’s £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the smuggling of illicit items such as mobile phones, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the smuggling of mobile phones and other contraband into prisons.

The number of mobile phones found in prisons in England and Wales is published in the HMPPS Annual Digest through the Finds in Prison Tables: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143b41e10bf000e17cf9e/8.__Finds.ods. Table 8.3 provides the number of mobile phones found per prison in England and Wales.

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data has been drawn from large scale administrative systems, and as such is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.