Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what improvements have been made to overall conditions at HMP Pentonville since July 2015; and if she will make a statement.

As the Justice Secretary has made clear, safety in prisons is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans.

We have announced £1.3bn to modernise the estate, as well as £100m to increase staffing, including £14m to recruit over 400 staff into our ten most challenging prisons.

We are also putting in place a range of new safety measures to tackle the use of illegal drugs, drones and mobile phones and improve security across the estate. This includes the use of over 300 trained sniffer dogs, as well as upgraded CCTV facilities and the roll-out of body worn cameras across the estate.

Since July 2015 Pentonville have delivered improvements in conditions relating to the residential accommodation; services for prisoners and daily activities.

Improvements have also been made in regards to security, with metal detection devices being used for all movement off the wings and improved mobile phone detectors utilised across the prison.