Prison Visitors: Coronavirus

(asked on 20th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to facilitate contact between prisoners and their families during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 4th June 2020

As of 24 March, social visits in prisons in England and Wales are temporarily suspended to enable us to ensure the safe and secure functioning of our prisons, while enforcing social distancing. These measures are part of the nationwide efforts to fight Covid-19 and we will review the restrictions in line with updates to public health advice.

In recognition of the importance of continued contact with family, we have moved quickly to keep prisoners in touch with their family members. This includes the provision of 900 locked mobile phones to establishments that do not yet have in-cell telephony.

Additionally, on 15 May, we announced that secure video calls will be introduced to some prisons and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) across England and Wales to maintain vital family contact for prisoners and young offenders during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Following a successful trial at HMP Berwyn, HMPPS is installing the technology at 10 institutions with a wider rollout in the coming weeks.

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