Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment he has made of the incidence of bullying in prisons run by (a) HM Prison Service and (b) private sector bodies.

The National Offender Management Service takes the issue of violence in prison very seriously. Current policy contained in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 64/2011 states that every verbal or physical act of violence must be challenged, and this includes bullying. Any prisoners engaging in violence, intimidation or bullying behaviour will have their privileges reviewed and may be subject to prosecution or disciplinary action.

Bullying incidents are captured within the figures under “threats/abusive behaviour” offences. These together with associated punishments are published annually in Offender Management Statistics which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual