Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding was allocated to Essex Police under Operation Safeguard in 2023; and how much and what proportion of that funding was used to house prisoners in that period.

Operation Safeguard is a contingency measure that provides additional headroom for use if prisoners cannot be accepted from the courts or police custody. It is a temporary measure to provide a short-term solution. When Operation Safeguard is active, tactical and operational governance reviews take place at regular intervals, as agreed with police partners.

There are no additional costs to the taxpayer and any spend under Operation Safeguard comes from within existing departmental budgets. Every aspect of Operation Safeguard – including compensation for cells – is based on agreements between HMPPS, the police and the Home Office. Spend is recorded on a cost-recovery basis.

Essex Police Force Operation Safeguard costs from February to end September 2023:

Command Costs £35,561

Cell availability Costs £366,771