To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the civil service pay increase, announced in June 2019 is not in line with inflation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the civil service pay increase, announced in June 2019 is not in line with inflation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons hon. Members received a pay rise of 2.7 per cent which was backdated to April 2019 and civil servants received a pay increase of 1.84 per cent which was backdated to June...

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons hon. Members received a pay rise of 2.7 per cent which was backdated to April 2019 and civil servants received a pay increase of 1.84 per cent which was backdated to June...

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to align the pay of civil servants in England, Scotland and Wales to the level of pay of civil servants employed in Scotland.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to align the pay of civil servants in England, Scotland and Wales to the level of pay of civil servants employed in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of remuneration for chief executives in the charity sector in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of remuneration for chief executives in the charity sector in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) allied healthcare professions in the NHS receive an annual salary of less than £30,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) allied healthcare professions in the NHS receive an annual salary of less than £30,000.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of rates of wage growth and inflation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of rates of wage growth and inflation.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the pension age of prison officers.

Police offers, firefighters and prison officers are all classified as emergency workers. They all do an extremely important job, and their work is physically demanding and often involves an element of risk and danger. Because of that,...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the pension age of prison officers.

Police offers, firefighters and prison officers are all classified as emergency workers. They all do an extremely important job, and their work is physically demanding and often involves an element of risk and danger. Because of that,...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. I also have a prison in my constituency, since Deerbolt was upgraded from a young offenders institution to a prison. I agree that a lot of positive work goes on in prisons, but is he not concerned by the increase...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. I also have a prison in my constituency, since Deerbolt was upgraded from a young offenders institution to a prison. I agree that a lot of positive work goes on in prisons, but is he not concerned by the increase...

The hon. Lady must have been listening to Justice questions this morning, when I said exactly that. Since she has a prison in her constituency, I urge her to join the Prison Service parliamentary scheme. If she will bear with me, I will come to the issue of violence in...

The hon. Lady must have been listening to Justice questions this morning, when I said exactly that. Since she has a prison in her constituency, I urge her to join the Prison Service parliamentary scheme. If she will bear with me, I will come to the issue of violence in...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will just give my second reason, which is that allowing private companies to make a profit out of the incarceration of human beings is simply immoral.

I will just give my second reason, which is that allowing private companies to make a profit out of the incarceration of human beings is simply immoral.

Thank you, Mr Hanson; I will do a quick swerve. On the point about private prisons and the influence of private companies, does the hon. Gentleman agree that privatising probation—the state’s care for people on probation—was the wrong thing to do?

Thank you, Mr Hanson; I will do a quick swerve. On the point about private prisons and the influence of private companies, does the hon. Gentleman agree that privatising probation—the state’s care for people on probation—was the wrong thing to do?

No, I do not. They are two entirely different issues. When people are on probation, they have either completed their sentence or they have not yet—[ Interruption. ] We will have to disagree on that.

If new prisons are built, the Government will have to recruit many more prison officers to...

No, I do not. They are two entirely different issues. When people are on probation, they have either completed their sentence or they have not yet—[ Interruption. ] We will have to disagree on that.

If new prisons are built, the Government will have to recruit many more prison officers to...

I declare an interest as a member of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group, which includes the Prison Officers Association.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson) on securing this important debate. Unusually, given the nature of the debate, I agreed with 95% of what he said, and...

I declare an interest as a member of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group, which includes the Prison Officers Association.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson) on securing this important debate. Unusually, given the nature of the debate, I agreed with 95% of what he said, and...

As my hon. Friend knows, Holme House Prison near my constituency has recently seen a rise in the abuse of Spice. That has caused dangers in itself, but it has also led the local mental health trust to withdraw services from the prison. Does he agree that that shows how...

As my hon. Friend knows, Holme House Prison near my constituency has recently seen a rise in the abuse of Spice. That has caused dangers in itself, but it has also led the local mental health trust to withdraw services from the prison. Does he agree that that shows how...

I completely agree. The conditions in many of our prisons are explosive. Holme House Prison is quite close to my constituency too, and I have visited it on a number of occasions. It is not just prison officers who are subjected to assaults; support staff are, too, and they need...

I completely agree. The conditions in many of our prisons are explosive. Holme House Prison is quite close to my constituency too, and I have visited it on a number of occasions. It is not just prison officers who are subjected to assaults; support staff are, too, and they need...

Prison officers need to be fit enough to protect not just themselves but prisoners from violence. Someone elderly, who does not have the same reflexes or strength as a younger person, cannot protect themselves or the people they are there to guard.

Prison officers need to be fit enough to protect not just themselves but prisoners from violence. Someone elderly, who does not have the same reflexes or strength as a younger person, cannot protect themselves or the people they are there to guard.

I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s analysis. We heard the Minister talking this morning about the recruitment of an additional 4,500 prison officers, but from the information provided by the POA it seems that substantial numbers of newly trained prison officers—at least 72 trainee prison officers—are

leaving the service...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s analysis. We heard the Minister talking this morning about the recruitment of an additional 4,500 prison officers, but from the information provided by the POA it seems that substantial numbers of newly trained prison officers—at least 72 trainee prison officers—are

leaving the service...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, as did the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson). Is it not the case that beyond a certain point some jobs are difficult to do? In the past, that could have included construction workers, working on cold, tough building sites...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, as did the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson). Is it not the case that beyond a certain point some jobs are difficult to do? In the past, that could have included construction workers, working on cold, tough building sites...

It is no longer tenable, Mr Hanson. We have reached tipping point, if I might quote a couple of quiz shows. The fact that prison officers are expected to work until the age of 68 disregards basic health and safety; in the opinion of many, it is a complete failure...

It is no longer tenable, Mr Hanson. We have reached tipping point, if I might quote a couple of quiz shows. The fact that prison officers are expected to work until the age of 68 disregards basic health and safety; in the opinion of many, it is a complete failure...