Prisons: Coronavirus

(asked on 24th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure security in prisons in the event that prison staff become infected with covid-19.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 27th April 2020

COVID-19 presents a unique set of challenges that we must address in order to maintain the provision of services in custody. As ever, the safety of our staff and those in our care remains of primary concern, and we are doing all that we can to protect them. Prisons have existing, well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases. We have also been working closely with Public Health and NHS services to put robust contingency plans in place in response to the specific risks posed by COVID-19.

Prisons are currently operating under temporarily restricted regimes so we can implement the Government’s measures to encourage the public to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. Staff are being re-deployed, where appropriate, from headquarters into operational roles. The Government also recently announced an extension of testing to prison and probation staff. Staff who had been self-isolating because they or a member of their household have symptoms of coronavirus will be able to return to work where they test negative.

In recognition of the importance of continued contact with family and to ensure stability in our jails, the Government has moved quickly to keep prisoners in touch with their family members. Around 60% of the prison estate now has access to in-cell telephony and for those that do not, we have rolled out 900 locked mobile phone handsets.

We have also worked with Prison Education Framework providers and local prison teams to collate distraction packs and in-cell activities.

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