Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many medical appointments have been missed by prisoners as a result of a shortage of escort staff in each prison and young offender institution in each of the last three months.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Government is fully committed to making our prisons deliver safe and decent regimes and is actively taking the measures necessary to ensure that. External escorts which include hospital appointments are profiled based on the agreement between the individual establishment and the healthcare provider.

We do not hold data showing missed medical appointments and would need to request this from each establishment.

We are boosting the number of prison officers by 2,500 and we have already reached the halfway mark.