Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of restoring the right of prison officers to take industrial action.

Prison officers work in difficult environments every day with some of the most challenging people in society, and we recognise their critical importance in keeping the public safe.

As prison officers’ right to take industrial action is restricted under current legislation, their pay is governed by the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB), which acts as a compensatory mechanism.

Ministers met with trade unions shortly after their appointment to Government and will continue to regularly engage with them going forward. There are no plans to review current legislation related to prison officers’ right to take industrial action.