Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that prisoners are not at risk of harm or violence while serving their sentences.

Safety in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them.

Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce reoffending.

We are supporting prisons to effectively manage individuals who are violent or at risk of self-harm or suicide and providing prison officers with the right tools to do their jobs.

Prisons have a range of physical security measures to counter the smuggling of contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons – that drive prison violence and undermine safety. We have rolled out over 13,000 Body Worn Video Cameras across adult public sector prisons which means that every Band 3-5 officer has access to a camera whilst on shift.

All new members of staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and violence reduction. In addition, a violence reduction, and a gangs and harmful group behaviour training module are available to help staff better understand the drivers of violence and how to mitigate and manage these risks. All staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management for those at a raised risk of suicide and self-harm or of being violent also receive specific training relating to these roles.