Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults were committed against prison staff by prisoners in HMP Lowdham Grange in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

We publish the number of assaults against prison staff, broken down by establishment, as part of our Safety in Custody statistics, in Table 8e of the summary tables, available at the following link: Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Totals for those occurring at HMP Lowdham Grange can be seen at row 96. Please note that the number of assaults occurring in October-December 2023 cannot be provided as they are due for publication at the end of April.

While the overall rate of staff assault across the prison estate remains below pre-pandemic levels, we continue to ensure all our hardworking staff are protected and will never tolerate violence against our hardworking prison officers. Prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions and will be dealt with swiftly and effectively, which includes further time behind bars.

We are providing staff in the adult male estate with a personal safety training package in order to protect them from serious violence. We also continue to provide targeted support to prisons to operate the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) which provides a framework for managing violence that is centred around the individual needs of prisoners, helping them to move away from violent behaviours.