Written question asked by Lord Mann (Labour) on Friday, 13 April 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 April 2012. It was answered by Crispin Blunt (Conservative) on Monday, 23 April 2012 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prison staff and (b) sub-contractors have been (i) arrested and (ii) dismissed for bringing mobile telephones or drugs into prisons in the last 12 months.

Answer: Information relating to public sector prison staff who have been arrested is not held centrally. However, for the 12-month period from February 2011 to January 2012 a total of 19 public sector prison staff were dismissed for the disciplinary reason of either ““Trafficking”” or having a ““Criminal Conviction””, of which three have been recorded with a sub-charge relating to ““Trafficking of Mobile Phones””, ““Trafficking of Mobile Phones/Drugs”” or ““Possession/Supply of Drugs””. The reasons for dismissal in the remaining 16 cases have not been recorded centrally, but we will seek to obtain the information from individual case files and I will write to the hon. Member with the outcome of these inquiries when they have been completed.Information on sub-contractors is not held centrally.In contracted sector prisons there have been three arrests and three dismissals for bringing mobile telephones or drugs into prisons in the last 12 months.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 103543; 543 c688W
Session: 2010-12
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2012-1145
Friday, 6 July 2012
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Arrests Drugs Dismissal Prisons Mobile phones Staff
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk