Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fire events occurred in each prison in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have invested significantly in increased staff numbers, recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We will continue to recruit officers to ensure prisons are safe and decent.

The table below provides the numbers of all fires in prisons between 2016 – 2018. Data prior to 2016 was not collected centrally and, as such, no reliable data before that time exists. However, the figures below show a significant fall in the number of fires in 2018, which coincides with the implementation of smoke free prisons and our actions to improve safety in custody.