Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on prisons in (a) Merseyside and (b) Lancashire of prison officers self-isolating after testing positive for covid-19.

The impact of prison officers self-isolating with Covid-19 across Merseyside and Lancashire alters daily. The numbers of staff in self-isolation are monitored at each prison and are reported to the Prison Group Director’s (PGD) Office daily, so if assistance is required it can be sought. There is a twice weekly Covid call with all prisons and their relevant PDG office to provide updates and support.

Different prisons face different risks, and preventative measures are implemented accordingly. All prisons have regime contingency plans in place that can respond if significant staff shortages occur and there is a national framework to provide support from outside of region within the Gold Command structure if required. All prisons within both regions are currently running regimes in line with the national Gold guidance and have sufficient staff to do so.

All prisons have control mechanisms to test staff and we follow national HMPPS guidance on isolation in all cases.