Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Bill (Money) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Chapman of Darlington
Main Page: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Chapman of Darlington's debates with the Home Office
(11 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberWe are pleased to welcome the Bill and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) for introducing it. I also welcome the Minister to his post. It is most pleasing to see a Policing Minister with, shall we say, some in-depth experience of the police taking on the role.
It is right that the Prison Service should adopt helpful technological advances as they become available and that appropriate resources should be made available. The technology has been piloted since 2008, and the Opposition support the expansion of its use across the prison estate and its introduction to private prisons.
The Opposition remind the Government of the need to project-manage the programme robustly so that all equipment purchased is put to good use, staff are properly trained and the information obtained from intercepting signals is used to prevent crime without disrupting the communications of those living nearby.