Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to prevent violence against women in prisons.

Violence against any prisoner or member of staff is unacceptable and we continue to take action to reduce violence across the entire prison estate.

Staffing levels are important to managing prison violence. Our Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model is transforming how we support prisoners and significant investments have been made to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers to improve safety and deliver key work. In April 2021 we began implementing a gender specific Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model in the women’s estate.

We continue to deliver on our £100m investment in security to reduce crime in prison, clamping down on weapons, drugs and phones that fuel violence behind bars.

We have also introduced the Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) to case manage those who pose a raised risk of violence towards others.