Written questions by Timothy.

How many times female prisoners have been provided with an emergency contraceptive pill in the past two years.

Awaiting answer.

The total cost of legal aid claimed by those charged or convicted with the theft of mobile phones in London in the past year.

Awaiting answer.

How many drones were sighted over prisons in England and Wales between July 2024 and April 2026; and how many drones were recovered by prisons between July 2024 and April 2026.

Awaiting answer.

To provide a list of the types of drugs recovered from drones in prisons in the past six months.

Awaiting answer.

How many prison governors and deputy prison governors prison currently work (a) any proportion of their contracted hours from home and (b) on compressed hours broken down by (i) the prison and (ii) the security category of the prison.

Awaiting answer.

The total amount spent on (a) compensation payments and (b) other payments to prison officers due to injury caused by assault by a prisoner in the last two financial years.

Awaiting answer.

How many prison officers who were assaulted by prisoners between July 2024 and April 2026 were sent to hospital.

Awaiting answer.

Whether His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has a formal policy permitting operational prison governors to (a) work from home and (b) on compressed hours.

Awaiting answer.

How many prisoners were physically assaulted by other prisoners in the past three years.

Awaiting answer.

The total cost of legal aid provided to prisoners bringing action against (a) other prisoners and (b) prison officers in each year since 2024.

Awaiting answer.

What meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers, (c) special advisers and (d) officials in her Department have had with the organisers of the Forest City 1 campaign.

Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below. HM Treasury: ministerial overseas travel and meetings - GOV.UK

What plans his Department has to publish an advertisement for the position of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons once it becomes vacant in October 2026.

Following consultation with the Justice Select Committee (JSC) about campaign plans to recruit to this position, we plan to advertise the role shortly. We will update the JSC on the timetable in due course.

What information his Department holds on whether Suffolk Police are to be given additional (a) officers, (b) funding and (c) logistical support when the expansion of HMP Highpoint is completed.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps his Department taking to help prevent prisoners from avoiding their Release on Temporary Licence.

Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) is a key part of preparing individuals for safe resettlement into the community. The Ministry of Justice takes the risk of prisoners failing to return from ROTL extremely seriously. I have assumed that it is this risk that you are referring to when you ask about preventing prisoners from ‘avoiding their Release on Temporary Licence'.ROTL is only granted following a rigorous risk assessment and is available only to prisoners who meet strict eligibility criteria. Decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the prisoner’s behaviour and compliance in custody, the nature of their index offence, and the purpose of the release.Where ROTL is approved, prisoners are subject to clear licence conditions, monitoring requirements and, where appropriate, curfews and checks on employment or resettlement placements. The inherent risk that offenders breach the trust placed in them is closely managed through robust controls.Any failure to return from ROTL is a criminal offence and can result in recall to custody, removal of future ROTL, and prosecution with a custodial sentence imposed. Where a prisoner fails to return, prisons and the police act promptly to locate and return the individual to custody.

How many individuals were assessed or monitored by the Joint Extremism Unit in each calendar year from 2017 to 2025 inclusive, broken down by the extremism or risk classification category used internally by the Unit.

Data on the number of people serving custodial sentences for terrorist offences are published by the Home Office as part of its quarterly statistical bulletin Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes, and stop and search, Great Britain, which is available at: Operation of police powers under TACT 2000, to December 2025 - GOV.UKDetails of the risk classification are withheld on the grounds of national security.The Joint Extremism Unit also monitors and assesses individuals who have not been convicted of terrorism or terrorism-connected offences, but nevertheless represent terrorist risk. Data regarding these individuals are also withheld on national security grounds.

How many prisoners with at least one life sentence have been granted (a) supervised, and (b) unsupervised Release on Temporary Licence in each year since 2020, broken down by offence.

Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) for prisoners serving life sentences is subject to particularly stringent risk assessment and senior decision making, and is granted only in limited circumstances, with public protection as the paramount consideration.Data on prisoners serving life sentences who are released on ROTL are published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, which include information on the number of individuals serving life sentences released on ROTL, by year: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.Data on supervised ROTL is not included within centrally collated statistical data or published ROTL figures. As a result, a breakdown of life sentence prisoners released on ROTL by supervised / unsupervised ROTL and offence would only be possible to obtain at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2026 to Question 123531 on Prisons: Meat, what sum his Department spent on providing multi-choice, pre-select menus for (a) lunchtime and (b) evening meals in prisons in each year since 2020.

The Department does not hold information on the cost of specific food items, including meat, or on expenditure associated with multi -choice or pre-selected menus. Prison expenditure on food is recorded at an aggregate level in management accounts as total prisoner food costs: it is not broken down by individual prisons, food types, menu options or dietary components. Food budgets are managed locally by Governors in the public estate, or Directors in privately managed prisons, who have flexibility within their overall allocations to meet the needs of their prison population, including religious, cultural and medical dietary requirements.All prisons across England and Wales provide prisoners with a choice of at least five meal options at both lunch and for the evening meal. As a minimum, these options include one meat dish, one vegan dish, one vegetarian dish, one Halal dish, and one additional alternative option. This requirement was established under PSO 5000 (Prison Catering Services), and was subsequently re-affirmed in its successor policy, PSI 44/2010 Catering: Meals for Prisoners, which came into effect in October 2010.

What fiscal steps her Department is taking to encourage careers in aviation.

The Department for Transport encourages careers in the aviation industry through its Generation Aviation programme. The Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, a part of the Generation Aviation programme, administered by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), funds outreach activity with the aim of showcasing career paths, boosting skills and futureproofing the aviation sector. The Department also funds the CAA’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme. The STEM programme is aimed at growing interest in aviation careers through identifying and addressing barriers and growing and diversifying the talent pool. Since the inception of both programmes, the Department has committed close to £6 million in funding, reaching over one million young people.

When were prisons required to provide the option of a (a) vegan dish, (b) vegetarian dish, and (c) Halal dish for their lunch and evening meal menus.

The Department does not hold information on the cost of specific food items, including meat, or on expenditure associated with multi -choice or pre-selected menus. Prison expenditure on food is recorded at an aggregate level in management accounts as total prisoner food costs: it is not broken down by individual prisons, food types, menu options or dietary components. Food budgets are managed locally by Governors in the public estate, or Directors in privately managed prisons, who have flexibility within their overall allocations to meet the needs of their prison population, including religious, cultural and medical dietary requirements.All prisons across England and Wales provide prisoners with a choice of at least five meal options at both lunch and for the evening meal. As a minimum, these options include one meat dish, one vegan dish, one vegetarian dish, one Halal dish, and one additional alternative option. This requirement was established under PSO 5000 (Prison Catering Services), and was subsequently re-affirmed in its successor policy, PSI 44/2010 Catering: Meals for Prisoners, which came into effect in October 2010.

How many prisoners with at least one life sentence have been transferred to open prison conditions in each year since 2020, broken down by offence.

To answer the question would incur disproportionate cost as it would require a search of individual prisoner records. Centrally-collated data on prisoner transfers cover transfers between a predominant function closed prison and a predominant function open prison but does not distinguish instances of prisoner movements between a ‘closed’ wing and an ‘open’ wing where a prison has both types of function. Therefore, this would require a search of individual prisoner records.Public protection remains the priority and prisoners will only be transferred to open conditions if it is assessed that it is safe to do so.