Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025, 55 qualified Band 4 probation officers joined HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). This figure reflects only those who already held the required qualification at the point of appointment.

The majority of Band 4 probation officers join HMPPS as trainees and qualify within the Department, rather than being recruited directly into Band 4 roles.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

There have been 2,623 Band 3–5 prison officers who joined HMPPS between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.

This data only covers Public Sector Prison establishments in England and does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners who are biologically (a) male and (b) female are housed in prisons designated for the opposite sex.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

As of 1 February 2026, there were seven prisoners on E Wing, the separate unit for transgender women at HMP Downview.

The information requested cannot be provided for the general female or male prison estates without breaching our legal obligations under data protection legislation. Where a request is made for statistical information and the total figure amounts to five or fewer, we must consider whether this would be likely to lead to the identification of individuals, and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending cannot be placed in the general women’s estate except in exceptional circumstances, where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of new prisons places that will result from the building of prisons that received planning approval since 5 July 2024; what his proposed timetable is for these prison places to become available.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031. Around 4,300 of these places have received planning permission since 5 July 2024. This includes full planning permission for a c.1,500 place prison near the existing HMPs Grendon and Springhill and outline planning permission for a c.1,700 place prison near the existing HMPs Garth and Wymott. We will seek to deliver these new places as quickly as possible and continue to identify opportunities to accelerate delivery of places wherever possible.

There are currently c.5,000 places under construction across the prison estate, including c.1,700 at our next new prison, HMP Welland Oaks, in Leicestershire.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to build new female prisons during this Parliament.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031; we have already delivered more than 2,900 of these places since taking office.

The 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy set out our ambition to establish a pipeline of future supply beyond these 14,000 places. Decisions regarding the female estate are kept under continuous review and are balanced against government ambition, demand for places, and the need to protect both prisoner and public safety.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Bus Service Improvement Plan funding on school travel costs.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We are providing nearly £700 million per year to help local transport authorities deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans, including more than £29 million allocated to East Sussex County Council over the next three years. This funding can be used to help reduce the cost of bus travel to education.