Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the increase in full-time equivalent officers at HMP Birmingham has been after HM Prison and Probation Service (a) stepped in and (b) took over the prison permanently.

In August 2018, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) exercised its right under the contract with G4S to ‘step-in’ and take over the running of HMP Birmingham. The ‘step-in’ meant that HMPPS could provide additional resources and support to directly address the areas of failure identified. The cost of this has been recovered from G4S.

G4S remain contractually responsible for the prison until 1st of July 2019 when HMPPS will take full control of the prison. As we have always mentioned, HMPPS does not publish the staffing numbers for privately managed prisons. Operators of privately managed prisons are required to deliver sufficient recruitment and training of staff to ensure they maintain a safe, decent and secure prison as per their contractual obligation. The performance of all providers continues to be robustly managed and we will not hesitate to take action if standards fall short.