Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional prison officers have been recruited since 31 March 2017; and how many of those posts were funded by the additional funding allocated by the Treasury at that time; and what additional funding the Treasury has allocated for the recruitment of prison offices since 31 March 2019.

The number of new officers appointed to work in public sector prisons and youth custody establishments between 1 April 2017 and the 31 March 2019 is published in the Quarterly Workforce Statistics for HM Prison and Probation Service at table 8a -https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hm-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2019

Additional funding of £106m was announced by the Secretary of State on 3 November 2016, for an additional 2,500 prison officer posts, which have now been filled. With growth, the £100m equates to £112m for the 2019/20 financial year, £97m of which is for public sector prisons.

Our recruitment drive continues to replace turnover in officer numbers and meet required staffing levels across the prison estate. We constantly monitor the need for further funding.