Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been assessed as needing to be moved into a higher security prison in the last six months; and what estimate he has made of how long it will take to move them.

A categorisation review can take place at any point during a prisoner's sentence following specific incidents or changes in risk. It is vital to ensure we hold prisoners in the appropriate category of prison. A total of 2020* prisoners in England and Wales have been assessed in the last six months as needing to be moved to a higher security prison. Upon receiving a new security categorisation level, they are relocated to their new category prison at the earliest opportunity.

*The data is captured from the Digital Categorisation Scheme and Is used as information for internal management processes.