Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to publish the outcome of her Department's review into whether protective body armour should be made available to frontline prison staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

HM Prison & Probation Service has commissioned an internal review to establish whether it is necessary for our brave and hard-working prison officers to wear Protective Body Armour either routinely or when working in high-risk environments within the prison estate which will report in early June. We will announce the outcome of the review and next steps to be taken following the review’s conclusion.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to appoint a chair to conduct the independent review of the attack on prison officers at HMP Frankland on 12 April 2025; and when the review will conclude.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

On Thursday 15 May, we announced the appointment of Jonathan Hall KC as the reviewer of the HMP Frankland Independent Review. The Lord Chancellor has asked for the review to report back promptly, and to leave no stone unturned so we can prevent such an incident ever happening again.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has received reports of (a) instances where inmates have been physically punished for failing to comply with informal interpretations of Sharia law and (b) other forms of (i) coercive violence and (ii) informal disciplinary practices within prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Extremist gang activity is not tolerated in prisons. Staff act swiftly to clamp down on intimidating or threatening behaviour regardless of cultural or religious sensitivities. Anyone who threatens assaults or attempts to control others faces tough sanctions, including time added on to their sentence. Our message is clear: follow the rules or pay for breaking them.

We do not tolerate any attempts by extremists to coerce others. Where we do identify evidence that this may be happening, we take a zero-tolerance approach. We have robust measures in place to manage offenders and prevent them from radicalising others. This includes specialist staff training, monitoring of communications, and targeted interventions, both in custody and upon release, to prevent the spread of harmful ideologies and reduce reoffending.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has received (a) intelligence and (b) operational reports referencing a group known as the Brotherhood; and whether such reports describe that group as exercising (i) influence and (ii) control over other prisoners.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Extremist gang activity is not tolerated in prisons. Staff act swiftly to clamp down on intimidating or threatening behaviour regardless of cultural or religious sensitivities. Anyone who threatens assaults or attempts to control others faces tough sanctions, including time added on to their sentence. Our message is clear: follow the rules or pay for breaking them.

We do not tolerate any attempts by extremists to coerce others. Where we do identify evidence that this may be happening, we take a zero-tolerance approach. We have robust measures in place to manage offenders and prevent them from radicalising others. This includes specialist staff training, monitoring of communications, and targeted interventions, both in custody and upon release, to prevent the spread of harmful ideologies and reduce reoffending.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has received reports on the operation of informal (a) adjudication mechanisms and (b) dispute resolution systems within prisons based on (i) Sharia and (ii) other (A) religious and (B) ideological codes.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Extremist gang activity is not tolerated in prisons. Staff act swiftly to clamp down on intimidating or threatening behaviour regardless of cultural or religious sensitivities. Anyone who threatens assaults or attempts to control others faces tough sanctions, including time added on to their sentence. Our message is clear: follow the rules or pay for breaking them.

We do not tolerate any attempts by extremists to coerce others. Where we do identify evidence that this may be happening, we take a zero-tolerance approach. We have robust measures in place to manage offenders and prevent them from radicalising others. This includes specialist staff training, monitoring of communications, and targeted interventions, both in custody and upon release, to prevent the spread of harmful ideologies and reduce reoffending.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many a) Separation Centres and b) segregation wings in the prison estate are currently in use; and what is their total available capacity.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

There are three separation centres, all within the Long-Term High Security Estate, with a total capacity of 28 prisoner places. Two are currently operational, and the third is available for use when required.

109 segregation wings or units in the prison estate are currently in use, with a capacity of 1,747 places.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact for her policies of the judgement in R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) on the ability of prison governors to isolate (a) extremist prisoners and (b) prisoners that present a high-risk to officers.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Access to kitchen facilities in Separation Centres and Close Supervision Centres was immediately suspended following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April. A rapid review of access to, and use of, self-cook areas across the prison estate, including special units, is due to report with recommendations in June.

R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) concerned an individual placement review decision, rather than general use of Separation Centres. We have continued to refer and place dangerous radicalisers into Separation Centres where they meet the criteria in Rule 46A of the Prison Rules 1999. Our use of Close Supervision Centres, designed to hold the most physically violent and disruptive prisoners, has not been affected.

Specialist counter-terrorism staff undertake regular assessments on the scale and nature of the terrorist threat across HMPPS, including on the radicalisation of inmates by other inmates. Assessments are conducted at establishment level, regional level, and national level to support day-to-day decision making and inform wider strategic priorities.

The Joint Extremism Unit maintains a consolidated list of extremist materials that are banned within the prison estate. This list is shared with relevant teams to ensure these materials are not available to prisoners. Prison Governors also have discretion over additional materials that may not be permitted within their establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has recently assessed the (a) scale and (b) nature of the threat from (i) Islamist and (ii) far-right prisoners radicalising other inmates.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Access to kitchen facilities in Separation Centres and Close Supervision Centres was immediately suspended following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April. A rapid review of access to, and use of, self-cook areas across the prison estate, including special units, is due to report with recommendations in June.

R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) concerned an individual placement review decision, rather than general use of Separation Centres. We have continued to refer and place dangerous radicalisers into Separation Centres where they meet the criteria in Rule 46A of the Prison Rules 1999. Our use of Close Supervision Centres, designed to hold the most physically violent and disruptive prisoners, has not been affected.

Specialist counter-terrorism staff undertake regular assessments on the scale and nature of the terrorist threat across HMPPS, including on the radicalisation of inmates by other inmates. Assessments are conducted at establishment level, regional level, and national level to support day-to-day decision making and inform wider strategic priorities.

The Joint Extremism Unit maintains a consolidated list of extremist materials that are banned within the prison estate. This list is shared with relevant teams to ensure these materials are not available to prisoners. Prison Governors also have discretion over additional materials that may not be permitted within their establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has issued to prison governors a consolidated list of extremist material banned in prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Access to kitchen facilities in Separation Centres and Close Supervision Centres was immediately suspended following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April. A rapid review of access to, and use of, self-cook areas across the prison estate, including special units, is due to report with recommendations in June.

R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) concerned an individual placement review decision, rather than general use of Separation Centres. We have continued to refer and place dangerous radicalisers into Separation Centres where they meet the criteria in Rule 46A of the Prison Rules 1999. Our use of Close Supervision Centres, designed to hold the most physically violent and disruptive prisoners, has not been affected.

Specialist counter-terrorism staff undertake regular assessments on the scale and nature of the terrorist threat across HMPPS, including on the radicalisation of inmates by other inmates. Assessments are conducted at establishment level, regional level, and national level to support day-to-day decision making and inform wider strategic priorities.

The Joint Extremism Unit maintains a consolidated list of extremist materials that are banned within the prison estate. This list is shared with relevant teams to ensure these materials are not available to prisoners. Prison Governors also have discretion over additional materials that may not be permitted within their establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken to suspend the use of kitchen facilities in Separation Centres within prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Access to kitchen facilities in Separation Centres and Close Supervision Centres was immediately suspended following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April. A rapid review of access to, and use of, self-cook areas across the prison estate, including special units, is due to report with recommendations in June.

R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) concerned an individual placement review decision, rather than general use of Separation Centres. We have continued to refer and place dangerous radicalisers into Separation Centres where they meet the criteria in Rule 46A of the Prison Rules 1999. Our use of Close Supervision Centres, designed to hold the most physically violent and disruptive prisoners, has not been affected.

Specialist counter-terrorism staff undertake regular assessments on the scale and nature of the terrorist threat across HMPPS, including on the radicalisation of inmates by other inmates. Assessments are conducted at establishment level, regional level, and national level to support day-to-day decision making and inform wider strategic priorities.

The Joint Extremism Unit maintains a consolidated list of extremist materials that are banned within the prison estate. This list is shared with relevant teams to ensure these materials are not available to prisoners. Prison Governors also have discretion over additional materials that may not be permitted within their establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders released on licence were not tagged in accordance with their licence conditions in the last 12 months for which data is available; and what proportion of that total were due to (a) equipment shortages and (b) administrative delays.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually going through each individual’s record on the Electronic Monitoring (EM) supplier’s and probation service’s systems where this detail is recorded.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the interim Permanent Secretary spoke at the televised Ministerial press conference on prisons of 14 May 2025.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The interim Permanent Secretary attended the televised press conference on 14 May to provide a factual update on prison capacity.

Mauritius Treaty

Found: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/25/visitors-to-uk-who-incite-antisemitism-will-be- removed-says-minister-robert-jenrick

Found: (Free Movement, 28 June 2022) 29 UK Parliament, ‘Illegal Migration Update: Statement made by Robert Jenrick

Found: bill were sufficient, and that the involvement of a judge “could just be a rubber stamp”.62 Robert Jenrick