Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 21 November 2022 to Question HL3309 on Prisons: Rehabilitation, whether HM Prison and Probation Service has introduced additional measures to build relationships between prison officers and prisoners with protected characteristics in prisons equipped with PAVA incapacitant spray.

We are determined to stamp out discrimination wherever it is found and HMPPS has committed to changing its culture for the better and relationships between staff and prisoners. Our approach includes refreshing our mental health support and education services, reviewing the impact of incidents where force is used, developing a nationwide mentoring programme, and creating targeted recruitment campaigns to ensure our staff fully reflect the communities they serve. Prisons have responsibility to analyse information on who PAVA is used on, and the staff who use it, with appropriate actions taken to challenge disproportionality identified in relation to any of the protected characteristics.

We will continue working closely with third sector partners, trade unions and our staff networks, who represent colleagues with protected characteristics, to continue building relationships between staff and people in prison.