Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the review on the care and management of transgender offenders, published in November 2016 on the safeguarding of transgender prisoners on the prison estate.

The National Offender Management Service’s new Instruction ‘The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders’, published on 9 November 2016, drew on the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice Review of transgender offenders. It both replaced the earlier Prison Service Instruction and extended its scope to include transgender offenders in the community. The new Instruction was fully implemented on 1 January 2017, following a transitional period of operation. Staff are being supported in the implementation of the new arrangements through guidance and training.

Our top priority is the welfare of those in our custody and following a thorough review, we have taken action to improve the way we manage and support transgender offenders.

We are committed to making prisons places of safety and reform and have invested in specialist mental health training for prison officers as well as launching a suicide and self-harm reduction project.