Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Minister of State for Justice to the Justice Select Committee on the 12 May 2020, (a) by and (b) from what date Public Health England has recommended that the prison population should be reduced by 5000-5500 prisoners to reduce the risk of further covid-19 infections; and by what date the Government plans to have reduced the prison population by that amount.

The Public Health England briefing paper on the prison population management strategies in response to Covid-19 was published on 27 April and is available on GOV.UK (link here).

That paper recognises the positive effect that HMPPS’s compartmentalisation strategy has in containing the spread of the virus within establishments, alongside other measures. HMPPS has assessed that to fully implement the compartmentalisation strategy requires around 5000-5,500 prison places. This is being delivered through a range of means, including a reduction in the population, support for early release schemes, expediting of remand cases, and expansion of the estate.

The assessment of how to operationalise the compartmentalisation strategy is an iterative piece of work and we are working closely with colleagues across the whole of the criminal justice system, including with Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, to understand the effects of renewed court activity and the potential impact this may have on the prison population. Any decisions on the next steps in prisons will follow advice from the NHS and Public Heath England and Public Health Wales alongside an operational assessment of what can be achieved in custodial settings with a range of public health control measures in place.