Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of lowering the pension age of prison officers to 60.

We highly value our hardworking prison staff and offer access to medical professionals and an employee assistance programme to ensure continued physical and mental wellbeing. I am committed to listening to and working with officers, staff and trade unions on a range of issues, and I continue to meet with the Prison Officer’s Association and other unions to discuss a range of issues. At this time no discussions have taken place with honourable colleagues from Treasury or Cabinet Office on prison officer pension age.