Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential risk to public safety posed by prisoners who escape custody and remain at large for over 30 days.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Public protection is our top priority. The number of escapes from prison establishments and prisoner escorts is very low. If a prisoner escapes or absconds, the police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender.
Those who escape or abscond face serious consequences including, in the case of absconders, being returned to closed prison conditions, where they may serve up to two additional years. Escapees face an additional sentence of imprisonment for which there is no statutory maximum term. Prisoners whose release is subject to a decision of the Parole Board are likely to spend a longer period in custody before the Board will agree to their release.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stab vests have been issued to prison officers since 5 July 2024, broken down by individual prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Following a serious incident at HMP Frankland in April 2025, the Department acted quickly to review the use of protective body armour (PBA) across the estate. As a result, we have introduced a significant expansion in provision, with PBA now mandated for staff working in the highest-risk areas of the long-term high security estate, including Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres and Segregation Units.
This builds on existing use in high-risk operational contexts such as planned use of force and national tactical deployments. Our approach is risk-based and evidence-led, ensuring that protective equipment is prioritised for those staff facing the greatest threat, while remaining practical and effective in operational environments.
We are committed to delivering the Deputy Prime Minister's pledge to equip up to 10,000 staff with PBA. As of 26 March, we have issued protective body armour to 514 named staff members and 264 spare sets for cross deployment. Information about the provision of PBA broken down by prison is shown in the table below.
Prison | Personal Issue | Spare |
Belmarsh | 22 | 12 |
Frankland | 71 | 36 |
Full Sutton | 73 | 36 |
Garth | 13 | 12 |
Gartree | 15 | 12 |
Isle of Wight | 13 | 12 |
Long Lartin | 26 | 12 |
Lowdham Grange | 19 | 12 |
Manchester | 51 | 24 |
Swaleside | 19 | 12 |
Wakefield | 50 | 24 |
Whitemoor | 48 | 24 |
Woodhill | 94 | 36 |
Total | 514 | 264 |
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weapons have been confiscated by prison officers since 5 July 2024, broken down by individual prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As data on the distinct number of weapons confiscated is not held centrally, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Statistics on the number of incidents of weapon finds in prison, which could include multiple weapons per incident, are, however, published. Information on finds of contraband, including weapons, are included as part of the HMPPS Annual Digest. The ‘Finds in Prison – Incidents Data Tool’ can be used to show the number of incidents of weapon finds by prison broken down by calendar month. The most recent release includes data to March 2025. The next publication will also include the period April 2025 to March 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2024-to-march-2025
Prisons in England and Wales have a range of specialist staff and equipment to tackle the smuggling of drugs, mobile phones, weapons and other contraband into prisons. This includes X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, X-ray baggage scanners, detection dogs, and other specialist equipment to alert staff to the potential presence of drugs on a range of items and materials
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of meat served in prisons has been (a) halal and (b) kosher in each year since 2020, broken down by individual prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As this data is not held centrally the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The Food in Prison Policy Framework requires that prisoners are provided with meals that meet an individual’s religious, cultural, and medical dietary needs. Prisons provide a multi-choice, pre-select menu for the lunchtime or evening meal which must reflect the diverse needs of the establishment’s population. When a Halal meat or poultry menu choice is offered, an alternative meat or poultry choice which is not Halal must be provided at the same meal.
All prisons across England and Wales provide prisoners with a choice of at least five meal options at both lunch and the evening meal. As a minimum, these options include: one meat dish, one vegan dish, one vegetarian dish, one Halal dish, and one additional alternative option.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison inmates have had illicit relationships with prison officers in each year since 2010, broken down by offence group.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The table below shows the number of prisoners in the last six years recorded as being involved in proven cases where a member of prison staff has been convicted of Misconduct in Public Office.
No data is held for years prior to 2020.
Year of case outcome | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Number of prisoners | 0 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 10 | 22 |
An inappropriate relationship is defined as any relationship that compromises a staff member’s ability to perform their duties appropriately.
Where officers fall below our high standards, we do not hesitate to take robust action. We are catching more of the minority who break the rules with our Counter Corruption Unit and stronger vetting.
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate has his department made of the size of the (a) youth custody population, (b) youth secure estate for the next five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
During the last 12 months, the population of the youth secure estate has varied in the range 440 to 510. Work on future projections is in hand, but owing to the small numbers involved and consequent volatility, there are difficulties in generating robust figures.
Later this year, we will set out our plans for wider reforms to youth custody, to deliver better outcomes for children, communities and taxpayers. This will include consideration of the future shape and configuration of the youth secure estate.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that prison staffing levels are sufficient to maintain security.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Effective prison security is a prerequisite for the safe and stable regimes required to promote prisoner rehabilitation, and sufficient levels of skilled frontline staff are fundamental to delivering secure and rehabilitative prison regimes. Against a challenging labour market, we have recruitment campaigns at all prisons where there are current or projected needs, and provide enhanced support to the prisons in the most challenging parts of the estate. HMPPS offers several routes to become a prison officer, including:
To help improve Prison Officer retention, HMPPS has created a retention strategy which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work. As of December 2025, the resignation rate for Band 3-5 Prison Officers was the lowest it has been in the last four years.
We have specialist staff and equipment to stop the smuggling of contraband in prisons – such as drugs, weapons and mobile phones – which can fuel violence and create instability.
We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience, both of which are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding has been allocated to the Youth Custody Service for the next five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As budget allocation across the Department is agreed annually, it is not possible to provide the information requested.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an his estimate of the potential reduction in the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) court workloads of increasing the adoption of community-based rehabilitation in the treatment of alcohol and substance use and addiction reducing recidivism rates.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to diverting vulnerable offenders with substance misuse needs away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether where appropriate. Many people who have committed low-level offences can be managed more effectively in the community, with the right treatment and support to tackle the health-related causes of their offending behaviour, than on short custodial sentences. Public Health England analysis shows that drug treatment reflects a return on investment of £4 for every £1 invested. Offenders completing treatment for drugs or alcohol were also 19 percentage points less likely to reoffend than those that dropped out of treatment.
An evaluation of the impact of being sentenced with a community sentence treatment requirement (CSTR) on proven reoffending was published in 2024 and found that for people who reoffended those sentenced to a drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR) and alcohol treatment requirement (ATR) had fewer reoffences compared to those who received a short custodial sentence.
Our Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which divert offenders with complex needs, including substance misuse, away from short custodial sentences into rehabilitative community sentences, are undergoing full evaluation scheduled for completion in 2028. The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of ISCs on reducing reoffending and their value for money. Published process evaluation findings show early promising signs, whereby some offenders reported reduced substance use and willingness to avoid reoffending.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of the probation service to manage increased caseload.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Probation Service continues to face capacity and workload pressures. The Probation Service uses the Workload Measurement Tool alongside other management information to support local and national oversight of workloads. This tool indicates the caseload per officer, which is one indicator of pressure, but it does not on its own provide a complete picture of probation capacity, as it does not take account of the complexity, risk level or intensity of individual cases, all of which have a significant impact on workload.
The Government recognises the pressures created by increased demand and has taken steps to strengthen probation capacity, including sustained recruitment of probation officers, action to improve retention, the prioritisation of resources towards the highest risk cases, and reducing workloads through the Our Future Probation Service (OFPS) programme, which aims to reduce workloads by 25% by April 2027. Together, these measures are intended to help ensure the Probation Service can continue to protect the public while managing increased caseload pressures safely and effectively.