Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been (a) found in and (b) prosecuted for possession of a bladed article in the last year.

HMPPS published the revised Crime in Prison Referral Agreement in October 2022. The agreement aims to ensure that all acts of criminality that occur in prison are properly addressed within the criminal justice system, particularly in circumstances that indicate that a criminal prosecution is appropriate or where a statutory obligation exists.

It is not possible to identify the number of prisoners found in or prosecuted for possession of a bladed article in the last year. Detailed information may be held on local administrative records, but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access and review all potentially relevant records which would be of disproportionate cost.