Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make a reassessment of the evidence used by the Harris Review in forming its recommendation 20, on benchmarking of staffing levels in prisons.

The benchmark staffing level has been designed to be safe, decent and secure. Safe, decent and secure operating levels were agreed with the Governor in each prison as the basis for the application and implementation of the prison’s tailored benchmark report. As the benchmark is implemented, there is the facility for Governors to request an evidenced change in their benchmark level.

The evidence that the Harris Review drew on related to a period prior to full implementation of the benchmarked staffing levels. Nationally, we appointed 2,250 new prison officers over the last year and this recruitment drive means we have 440 more full-time prison officers in our prisons than there were twelve months ago.