Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners are held in specialist units on the (a) male and (b) female estate; and what criteria determine those placements.

Transgender women who cannot be held safely in the male or female estate can be placed on E Wing, where this is approved by a multi-disciplinary panel of officials. E Wing is a separate unit for transgender women at HMP & YOI Downview: it is not part of the general women's prison estate. E Wing prisoners may only have access to the wider regime at Downview in limited circumstances, and only where this is supervised by staff and following a thorough risk assessment.

As of 1 April 2026, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.