SAFE INSIDE REPORT ON PRISON STAFF SAFETY

That this House welcomes the Safe Inside report from the Joint Unions in Prisons Alliance, a coalition of nine national trades unions representing the majority of prison staff; is concerned by the health and safety emergency revealed by this report, with a quarter of prison officers, educators, nurses, administrative workers, cleaners and other staff surveyed personally experiencing physical violence in the last year, while half had been exposed to new psychoactive substances such as Spice; agrees with the report's conclusions that solutions to this crisis must include a tougher response to violent incidents, better health and safety reporting, specific action against psychoactive substances, a significant increase in the number of prison officers, and a meaningful investigation into the causes and effects of violence against prison staff; and calls on the Government to ensure as a matter of urgency that all reasonable steps are taken to improve health and safety conditions for all staff working in prisons, including a reversal of the dangerous cuts to prison budgets made since 2010 and the launch of a national violence reduction strategy in collaboration with all staff unions.