Prisoners: Transgender People
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners are held in specialist units on the (a) male and (b) female estate; and what criteria determine those placements.
Answered by Jake Richards
Transgender women who cannot be held safely in the male or female estate can be placed on E Wing, where this is approved by a multi-disciplinary panel of officials. E Wing is a separate unit for transgender women at HMP & YOI Downview: it is not part of the general women's prison estate. E Wing prisoners may only have access to the wider regime at Downview in limited circumstances, and only where this is supervised by staff and following a thorough risk assessment.
As of 1 April 2026, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.
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