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Prison Officers: Protective Clothing

Answer

Following a serious incident at HMP Frankland in April 2025, the Department acted quickly to review the use of protective body armour (PBA) across the estate. As a result, we have introduced a significant expansion in provision, with PBA now mandated for staff working in the highest-risk areas of the long-term high security estate, including Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres and Segregation Units.

This builds on existing use in high-risk operational contexts such as planned use of force and national tactical deployments. Our approach is risk-based and evidence-led, ensuring that protective equipment is prioritised for those staff facing the greatest threat, while remaining practical and effective in operational environments.

We are committed to delivering the Deputy Prime Minister's pledge to equip up to 10,000 staff with PBA. As of 26 March, we have issued protective body armour to 514 named staff members and 264 spare sets for cross deployment. Information about the provision of PBA broken down by prison is shown in the table below.

Prison	Personal Issue	Spare
Belmarsh	22	12
Frankland	71	36
Full Sutton	73	36
Garth	13	12
Gartree	15	12
Isle of Wight	13	12
Long Lartin	26	12
Lowdham Grange	19	12
Manchester	51	24
Swaleside	19	12
Wakefield	50	24
Whitemoor	48	24
Woodhill	94	36
Total	514	264

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

123532

Session

2024-26

Related items

Prison Officers: Protective Clothing
Thursday, 23 April 2026
Written questions
House of Commons

Subjects

Protective clothing Prison officers

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk