Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners (a) requested and (b) received a requested dictionary in the last 12 months; and what the rules are for the provision of dictionaries for prisoners.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dictionaries will be made available for prisoners that request them. The Incentives Policy Framework (IPF) identifies those items that Governors must allow each prisoner when requested, irrespective of incentive level. Writing and reading materials, including dictionaries, form part of this list.

As well as this, all prisoners do have reasonable access to prison libraries, which focus on supporting learning and resettlement, and improving literacy. Prison libraries have the overarching aim of promoting reading as a source of pleasure and to provide prisoners with opportunities for wider cultural engagement. The stock available should reflect the needs of the prisoner community, based on a wide range of management information supplied by the establishment and library service provider.