Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce concerns about violence and personal safety for prison officers and prisoners in England and Wales.

The safety of staff and prisoners is a key priority, and we continue our efforts to address the levels of violence in prison.

We are equipping our staff with the right tools and training to maintain safety in our prisons. We have rolled out a new Body Worn Video Camera system and we are rolling out PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray – in the adult male estate alongside SPEAR, a personal safety training package.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 doubled the maximum penalty to up to two years’ imprisonment for those who assault emergency workers, including prison officers.

We continue to support prisoners at risk of violence to move away from violent behaviours and we are delivering a £100m Security Investment Programme to disrupt smuggling of illicit items such as drugs and weapons that can fuel prison violence.