Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were deployed on detached duty to (a) HMP Long Lartin and (b) HMP Whitemoor in each of the last four years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Staff are deployed on national detached duty (NDD) as a tactical response to support prisons which require it, to cover staffing shortfalls or to meet other operational requirements. NDD is a vital contingency measure to assist H M Prison & Probation Service to maintain good order and security in prisons
The table below shows the average monthly deployment of full-time equivalent NDD staff to the two prisons between October 2022 and April 2024. HMP Whitemoor is no longer receiving NDD support. Except as shown in the table, no NDD staff were deployed to either site during the past four years.
Date | HMP Whitemoor | HMP Long Lartin |
Oct 2022 | 0 | 13.2 |
Nov 2022 | 0 | 36.25 |
Dec 2022 | 0 | 40.2 |
Jan 2023 | 0 | 40 |
Feb 2023 | 0 | 41 |
Mar 2023 | 0 | 37.4 |
Apr 2023 | 0 | 44.5 |
May 2023 | 0 | 61.6 |
Jun 2023 | 0 | 60.5 |
Jul 2023 | 4.5 | 55.75 |
Aug 2023 | 23.4 | 61.2 |
Sep 2023 | 31.25 | 65.5 |
Oct 2023 | 30 | 64 |
Nov 2023 | 31 | 65.4 |
Dec 2023 | 28.5 | 57 |
Jan 2024 | 27.5 | 46.75 |
Feb 2024 | 23.2 | 32.6 |
Mar 2024 | 13.25 | 27.5 |
Apr 2024 | 7.5 | 27 |
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21066 on Prisons: Civil Disorder, how may Tornado trained officers each prison should aim to have trained.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:
HMPPS aims to have 2,100 volunteers trained in readiness for Operation Tornado. Since the inception of Operation Tornado in the late 1980s, HMPPS has allocated a commitment to each prison for how many Tornado staff they should have trained. HMPPS monitors the number of staff available for deployment and offer training spaces to ensure resilience to respond to serious incidents.
In the event of a serious incident, all prisons, including those who have a commitment of zero, receive the same level of support from the Operation Response and Resilience Unit and Tornado trained staff from other prisons if required.
The requested information is in the table attached.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 14 of the document published by HM Prison Service on 31 August 2005 entitled Use of Force, whether his Department has previously had a policy of ensuring each prison had a minimum commitment for the number of Operation Tornado officers trained in each prison.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:
HMPPS aims to have 2,100 volunteers trained in readiness for Operation Tornado. Since the inception of Operation Tornado in the late 1980s, HMPPS has allocated a commitment to each prison for how many Tornado staff they should aim to have trained. HMPPS monitors the number of staff available for deployment and offer training spaces to ensure resilience to respond to serious incidents.
In the event of a serious incident, all prisons, including those who have a commitment of zero, receive the same level of support from the Operation Response and Resilience Unit and Tornado trained staff from other prisons if required.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether HM Prison and Probation Service has made an assessment of the safety of (a) prisoners and (b) prison officers in prisons that do not have Tornado trained staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:
HMPPS aims to have 2,100 volunteers trained in readiness for Operation Tornado. Since the inception of Operation Tornado in the late 1980s, HMPPS has allocated a commitment to each prison for how many Tornado staff they should aim to have trained. HMPPS monitors the number of staff available for deployment and offer training spaces to ensure resilience to respond to serious incidents.
In the event of a serious incident, all prisons, including those who have a commitment of zero, receive the same level of support from the Operation Response and Resilience Unit and Tornado trained staff from other prisons if required.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons offer bonuses for detached duty volunteers; and how many officers have been paid bonuses in each prison in the last 12 months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The following prisons currently attract a bonus for National Detached Duty volunteers;
HMP Bedford, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Bristol, HMP Cookham Wood, HMP Long Lartin, HMP Lowdham Grange, HMP Onley, HMP Stocken, HMP Swaleside, HMP Wayland, HMP Whitemoor, HMP Woodhill.
In the 12 months to 27 February 2024, 1146 bonus payments were made to prison officers at Bands 3-5 for national detached duty. Some staff have completed more than one detached duty deployment and separate bonuses are paid for each deployment. Detached duty deployments range from two to twelve weeks.
It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to collate the information needed to calculate how many individuals in each prison received bonus payments during the period.
We have committed to recruiting up to 5,000 additional prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s.
There has been a fall in the resignation rate among Band 3-5 officers of 2.4 percentage points in the year to 30 December 2023 compared to the previous year.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times prison officers were deployed on detached duty in 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Staff on national detached duty are entitled to a bonus payment that varies depending on the length of the deployment. Details are given in the table below:
4 weeks | 8 weeks | 12 weeks |
£500 | £1200 | £2000 |
Additionally, and in line with the National Travel and Subsistence policy (PSI 15/2021), staff are entitled to claim overnight subsistence at £25 per night, and business mileage at a rate of 45p per mile for any additional travel incurred, as well as for the cost of bed and breakfast accommodation where applicable, at rates that vary depending on the location.
An average of 332.35 staff each week were deployed on national detached duty during 2023.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional allowances are paid to prison officers on detached duty.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Staff on national detached duty are entitled to a bonus payment that varies depending on the length of the deployment. Details are given in the table below:
4 weeks | 8 weeks | 12 weeks |
£500 | £1200 | £2000 |
Additionally, and in line with the National Travel and Subsistence policy (PSI 15/2021), staff are entitled to claim overnight subsistence at £25 per night, and business mileage at a rate of 45p per mile for any additional travel incurred, as well as for the cost of bed and breakfast accommodation where applicable, at rates that vary depending on the location.
An average of 332.35 staff each week were deployed on national detached duty during 2023.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2024 to Question 7947 on Prison Officers, what the total cost to the public purse was for the provision of prison officers on detached duty in 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As data on travel, subsistence and accommodation in relation to detached duty are not separately identified, it is not possible to provide the information requested.
The calculation of the average additional cost associated with deployment of staff on detached duty given in response to Question 7947 included some estimated figures: for example, for the average length of journeys.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were on detached duty in 2023; and what the additional cost to the public purse was for the provision of prison officers on detached duty in 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As the length of deployment for prison officers on national detached duty varies, we have provided data based on average deployment rates.
On average 332.35 staff per week were deployed on National Detached Duty in 2023. We estimate that the average additional cost associated with this deployment is £313,093.04 per week: this includes travel and subsistence, accommodation and incentivisation costs.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) incapacitant spray has been (1) drawn, or (2) drawn and deployed, in prisons since 1 April 2019, broken down by prison.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
We ensure all our prison officers are trained in how to use PAVA professionally, safely and lawfully and that it is only used when necessary and proportionate.
The data provided for this response is collected as internal management information and reflects the data held at the date of extraction. It is not quality assured in the same way as data prepared for publication and is subject to change.
Establishment* | Total | Drawn only | Drawn and deployed |
Aylesbury | 20 | 5 | 15 |
Bedford | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Belmarsh | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Berwyn | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Brinsford | 18 | 4 | 14 |
Bure | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Channings Wood | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Durham | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Elmley | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Featherstone | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Ford | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Garth | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Gartree | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Hindley | 13 | 5 | 8 |
Hull | 25 | 4 | 21 |
Humber | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Isis | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Manchester | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Moorland | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Norwich | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Preston | 22 | 3 | 19 |
Ranby | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Risley | 42 | 15 | 27 |
Rochester | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Stafford | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Stocken | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Swaleside | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Swinfen Hall | 31 | 5 | 26 |
Wakefield | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Wandsworth | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Wayland | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Wealstun | 36 | 11 | 25 |
Whitemoor | 11 | 4 | 7 |
Winchester | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Woodhill | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Total | 279 | 92 | 187 |
Ford | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Garth | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Gartree | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Hindley | 13 | 5 | 8 |
Hull | 25 | 4 | 21 |
Humber | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Isis | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Manchester | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Moorland | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Norwich | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Preston | 22 | 3 | 19 |
Ranby | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Risley | 42 | 15 | 27 |
Rochester | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Stafford | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Stocken | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Swaleside | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Swinfen Hall | 31 | 5 | 26 |
Wakefield | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Wandsworth | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Wayland | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Wealstun | 36 | 11 | 25 |
Whitemoor | 11 | 4 | 7 |
Winchester | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Woodhill | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Total | 279 | 92 | 187 |
Note* The above prisons comprise both those which have been through full rollout and deployed to over 50% of their eligible staff, and also prisons that have only issued as part of an exceptional deployment to a very small number of staff.