Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Prisoner Escorting and Custody officers have access to body-worn cameras.

The existing Prison Service Instruction (PSI) relating to body-worn video cameras (BWVC) does not provide for their use in court buildings. It is important that the use of BWVCs is compliant with the requirements of data protection legislation, which was a factor in prescribing the confines of their use within the PSI.

A new Policy Framework is due to be released later this year which will replace the PSI and reflect the up-to-date procedures for camera use, and current best practice. This is being done in tandem with a procurement exercise to replace the BWVC equipment currently used within the public sector prison estate.

The protection and safety of all our frontline workers is of the upmost importance to HMPPS. The Assaults on Emergency Workers Act covers Prisoner Escorting and Custody Services (PECS) officers, should they become victim of an assault in the workplace.