Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers require stab vests due to the danger of the prisoners in their charge.

The previous Lord Chancellor announced in June the mandatory use of Protective Body Armour (PBA – also known as stab vests), for staff in specialist units, which includes Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres and Segregation Units in the Long-Term High Security Estate. Following this announcement, 750 vests have been ordered.

PBA is available for use when deemed necessary in prisons, including:

• Operational Response and Resilience Unit staff who wear protective body armour when deployed. This includes the National Tactical Response Group and the National Dog and Tactical Support Group staff.
• Staff mobilised under ‘Operation Tornado’, a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff, are issued with PBA as part of their personal protective equipment.
• Prison Officers are required to wear PBA, along with other Personal Protective Equipment, when they engage in the planned use of force or where safe systems of work for the management of high-risk prisoners dictates.