Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will amend the COVID-19: National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services, published on 2 June 2020, to specify that it will be an objective to test prisoners for covid-19 infection in all cases during reception, transfer, and release processes as soon as is practicable.

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has no plans to amend the Covid-19: National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services published on 2 June.

We are, however, examining what additional testing capacity we might bring in to further support our understanding of the importation of infection into prisons, including the asymptomatic testing of new receptions.