Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help tackle and (b) vet HM Prison staff to ensure compliance with rules on the smuggling of contraband into prisons; and whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on a UK-wide approach to this issue.

The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated. All HMPPS prison staff are subject to pre-employment vetting checks, including social and digital media vetting checks, to assess whether candidates meet the high standards expected of them to work in HMPPS and assures a standard of resilience upon entry. This vetting is renewed every 10 years.

HMPPS is undertaking a Vetting Reform Programme and applying the recommendations from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police, Fire & Rescue Services report of 2022: “An Inspection of Vetting, Misconduct and Misogyny in the Police Service” to prisons and probation.

The Department has not held discussions with devolved administrations about vetting but will consider the merits of doing so to ensure processes remain modern and robust across the UK.

We committed to having a zero-tolerance approach to crime in prisons. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including the smuggling of contraband, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered airport-style enhanced gate security to 42 high-risk sites, implementing routine searching of staff. We have since gone further and installed X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites and invested into new drug trace detection equipment across the estate.