VIOLENCE IN PRISONS

That this House expresses grave concern at the soaring levels of violence in prisons as revealed by the most recent Safety in Custody statistics; is alarmed by the 20 per cent rise in the recorded number of yearly assault incidents across the prison estate in England and Wales to 33,803, and the six per cent rise in serious assaults to 3,949; is further alarmed by the 29 per cent rise in the recorded number of yearly assaults on prison staff to 10,085, and the 27 per cent rise in serious assaults on staff to 997; believes that this record level of violence against staff is a major factor behind the crisis in retention of prison officers, with low pay and a retirement age of 68 also contributing to rock-bottom officer morale; further believes that prison staffing must return to pre-2010 levels before this health and safety emergency can be properly tackled; and calls on the Government to reverse its cuts to the prisons budget and to develop a violence reduction strategy in collaboration with staff unions as a matter of urgency.