Covid-19: Prisoners and Children in Custody

Lord German Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord German]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of (1) prisoners, and (2) children in custody, who have tested positive for COVID-19.

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, the latest available data, published on 13 November, confirms that 1,521 adult prisoners and eight children have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, across 99 establishments. The safety of staff and those in our care remains a top priority. I am pleased to report that the latest public health reports indicate that the measures we have put in place are working to save lives and are limiting the transmission of the virus in our prisons.

[Lord German (LD)]

My Lords, the current second wave of coronavirus has been much worse for the prison estate than the first. Added to the absence of family visits and education and training, and the replacement of sentenced prisoners by those held on remand, the strength of the second wave is very worrying. Despite the valiant work of prison staff, the problem remains of too many prisoners for the space available. Having abandoned the early release scheme in August, what now is the Government’s route to a safe reduction in prison numbers?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, we are still not full in our prisons. We are working with temporary accommodation in our prisons, and we are doing everything that we can to compartmentalise prisoners so that we are not having a second wave in our prisons. We are using temporary accommodation and single cells to make sure that they are as safe as possible.