Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings her Department has had with (a) prison officers, (b) prison officers' unions and (c) other representative bodies of prison staff to discuss assaults in open prisons in the last 12 months.

We have maintained regular and structured engagement with staff and their recognised trade union representatives on this matter. All prison governors in the open estate routinely hold local staff engagement forums, providing frontline officers with the opportunity to raise concerns or share feedback. His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) ensures that the safety statistics, which are published, reviewed, and discussed quarterly with recognised trade unions, including the POA. These meetings form part of HMPPS’s formal engagement and allow unions to raise concerns on safety matters.

There are also more frequent open-estate trade union stocktakes to provide additional engagement opportunities on this issue, and other matters of concern to members.

HMPPS headquarters officials meet every two weeks with governors of open prisons, and convene quarterly forums specifically focused on open prison operations, where safety is a standing agenda item. These engagements reflect our continuing commitment to transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement in custodial safety.