Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vulnerable prisoners are currently held in prisons in England and Wales.

Jeremy Wright

The term "vulnerable prisoner" covers a wide range of prisoner types/characteristics but broadly these are those who need protection from themselves and other prisoners for a variety of reasons, including the nature of their offence, debt or conflicts outside or within the prison.

Our approach to managing these prisoners varies according to the nature of why they are deemed as vulnerable and is dependent on specific offending needs.

The number of prisoners in England and Wales who are identified as vulnerable is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would involve contacting every prison directly in order to request how many prisoners each prison has identified, or is managing, as a vulnerable prisoner.

All closed prisons in England and Wales have the facility to accommodate vulnerable prisoners in designated accommodation.