Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to secure the supply of food to prisons in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

In common with all Government Departments, the Ministry of Justice has considered what impacts there might be on its institutions of leaving the EU without a deal, including on prisons.

Preparations are underway to ensure we are ready for this scenario. This includes ensuring that our food and retail contracts have alternative arrangements in case of disruption through ports.

Delivering a revised deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. The Government is accelerating no deal preparations to ensure the country is prepared for every eventuality. It is the responsible thing to do. As part of cross-Whitehall preparations for a no deal scenario, all Government Departments are considering what resources are required to mitigate any potential impacts and to ensure that businesses and citizens are sufficiently prepared for all eventualities of Brexit.