Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of staff at HMP Berwyn are on (a) short term sick leave, (b) long-term sick leave, and (c) restricted duty.

As at 30 September 2018, there were 609 (FTE) staff In Berwyn; of these 141 were non-operational and 468 were operational (of which 387 were Prison Officers). The recorded figures for September 2018 for staff sickness are reported as (a) 11 for short term sick leave, (b) 15 long-term sick leave, and (c) 14 restricted duty, inclusive of six maternity related restrictions.

We are committed to supporting the health of all our employees which is why we have implemented a strategy designed to identify the causes of stress and ensure help is in place. We have recruited more than 4,300 officers since October to further ease the burden on our staff in prisons, and have simultaneously given them the biggest pay rise in a decade to better reflect their hard work.

Whilst staff sickness at HMP Berwyn is below the national target, the recent appointment of a dedicated resource to manage processes around sickness has begun to demonstrate an improvement in this area.