Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral contribution of 24 January 2017, Official Report, column 144, on prison staff, if she will assess the effect of the reduction in accommodation fabric checks on (a) the incidence of self-harm and (b) maintaining order and security in prisons; and whether the outcomes set out in Prison Service Instruction 28/2011 and Prison Service Instruction 09/2016 have been achieved.

Prisons employ a range of operational security measures aimed at keeping prisons safe and secure. Accommodation Fabric Checks (AFCs) support this by disrupting the ability of prisoners to store prohibited items in their cells either for their own purposes or on behalf of others. Each prison must assess the frequency of AFCs required to meet their own security and safety needs. Any reduction in the frequency of AFCs may be more effectively offset by targeted and intelligence led searches.

There is no direct link between the frequency of AFCs and self-harm. Other than through ensuring the integrity of the cell, an AFC does not allow for any meaningful interaction between officer and prisoner.

MoJ is investing an extra £100m annually to boost the frontline by 2,500 prison officers so that every prisoner will have a dedicated officer to support them. Not only will a greater officer presence provide a deterrence to prisoner behaviour that threatens the safe running of prisons but officers will be better able to pick up on any signs of vulnerability in the prisoners assigned to them.