Written questions by Maguire.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that prisoners are not at risk of harm or violence while serving their sentences.

Safety in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them.Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce reoffending.We are supporting prisons to effectively manage individuals who are violent or at risk of self-harm or suicide and providing prison officers with the right tools to do their jobs.Prisons have a range of physical security measures to counter the smuggling of contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons – that drive prison violence and undermine safety. We have rolled out over 13,000 Body Worn Video Cameras across adult public sector prisons which means that every Band 3-5 officer has access to a camera whilst on shift.All new members of staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and violence reduction. In addition, a violence reduction, and a gangs and harmful group behaviour training module are available to help staff better understand the drivers of violence and how to mitigate and manage these risks. All staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management for those at a raised risk of suicide and self-harm or of being violent also receive specific training relating to these roles.

What her Department's estimated timescale is for HMP Dartmoor returning to full operational capacity; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of radon levels on the health of (a) prisoners and (b) prison staff.

The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and assess options to reduce levels of radon sufficiently to allow us to reopen the prison safely. While this process is ongoing, we are unable to provide an estimated timeline to return Dartmoor to its full operational capacity of around 680 places. We continue to work with Health and Safety experts to further our understanding of the impact that exposure levels could have on prisoners and staff.If it is concluded that it is feasible and cost effective to return the prison to use, we will complete a full options assessment for the site, including the possibility of increasing the capacity of the prison from that at which it closed. In the meantime, we continue to work with HMP Dartmoor and the trade unions to manage the impact of the closure on staff. No staff have been made redundant.We are in the process of redeploying staff, which for most will be to the neighbouring establishments HMP Exeter and HMP Channings Wood. We are ensuring they have access to the Department’s Employee Assistance Programme and are supported through the transition by their line managers.

What impact the reduction in operational capacity of HMP Dartmoor has had on the number of (a) staff redundancies, (b) staff retiring before state pension age and (c) contract length of contracted staff at the prison; and what proportion of affected personnel have been redeployed within the prison service.

The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and assess options to reduce levels of radon sufficiently to allow us to reopen the prison safely. While this process is ongoing, we are unable to provide an estimated timeline to return Dartmoor to its full operational capacity of around 680 places. We continue to work with Health and Safety experts to further our understanding of the impact that exposure levels could have on prisoners and staff.If it is concluded that it is feasible and cost effective to return the prison to use, we will complete a full options assessment for the site, including the possibility of increasing the capacity of the prison from that at which it closed. In the meantime, we continue to work with HMP Dartmoor and the trade unions to manage the impact of the closure on staff. No staff have been made redundant.We are in the process of redeploying staff, which for most will be to the neighbouring establishments HMP Exeter and HMP Channings Wood. We are ensuring they have access to the Department’s Employee Assistance Programme and are supported through the transition by their line managers.

What plans her Department has for readmitting prisoners to HMP Dartmoor prison; what the estimated timescale for readmission is; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the capacity of the prison.

The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and assess options to reduce levels of radon sufficiently to allow us to reopen the prison safely. While this process is ongoing, we are unable to provide an estimated timeline to return Dartmoor to its full operational capacity of around 680 places. We continue to work with Health and Safety experts to further our understanding of the impact that exposure levels could have on prisoners and staff.If it is concluded that it is feasible and cost effective to return the prison to use, we will complete a full options assessment for the site, including the possibility of increasing the capacity of the prison from that at which it closed. In the meantime, we continue to work with HMP Dartmoor and the trade unions to manage the impact of the closure on staff. No staff have been made redundant.We are in the process of redeploying staff, which for most will be to the neighbouring establishments HMP Exeter and HMP Channings Wood. We are ensuring they have access to the Department’s Employee Assistance Programme and are supported through the transition by their line managers.