Question follow-through · 85275
Prisons: Staff
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of (a) prisoners held and (b) staff employed by HM Prison Service was in each of the last eight years.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Ministry of Justice
- Tabled
- 27 Oct 2025
- Target answer date
- 29 Oct 2025
- Answer
- 4 Nov 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Justice and policing
- Reoffenders · 11 Nov 2025
- Reoffenders: Sentencing · 11 Nov 2025
- Prisoners: Rehabilitation · 11 Nov 2025
- Crown Court · 3 Dec 2025
- Crown Court: Sentencing · 3 Dec 2025
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Votes on this topic
- Opposition Day: Early release of prisoners · 7 Jul 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
27 Oct 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of (a) prisoners held and (b) staff employed by HM Prison Service was in each of the last eight years.
29 Oct 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
4 Nov 2025
Answer published
Detailed statistics on the number of offenders in custody are published quarterly, including for the last eight years, and are available here: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The average annual population can be found in Table 1_A_3 of ...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Reoffenders
11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce repeat offending.
Reoffenders: Sentencing
11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing sentences for serial offenders on (a) public safety and (b) crime rates.
Prisoners: Rehabilitation
11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Crown Court
3 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of new swift courts within the Crown Court on the number of wrongful convictions.
Crown Court: Sentencing
3 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who will be sentenced to more than three years in prison by new swift courts within the Crown Court in each of the next five years.
Crown Court: Sentencing
3 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the maximum sentence will be that a judge could impose on a convicted person when tried under the proposed new swift courts within the Crown Court.
Crown Court
4 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional cases are expected to be heard each year under the new swift courts compared with existing Crown Court processes.
Ministry of Justice: National Security
16 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Courts: Telephone Services
12 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of court phone numbers that, when called, tell you to call a different number.
Courts: Telephone Services
12 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) customer service, (b) accessibility and (c) the ability of users to speak to a human operator in its court telephone system.
High Court: Telephone Services
12 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been employed to answer phone enquiries for the High Court in each of the last 5 years.
Courts: Data Protection
12 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps courts take to comply with data protection laws.