Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service document entitled, COVID-19: National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services, published on 2 June 2020, what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of personal protective equipment for (a) representatives of monitoring bodies and (b) members of voluntary and community sector organisations visiting prisons as part of those organisation's work.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to maintaining social distancing to protect staff and prisoners from COVID-19.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is used in line with public health advice to mitigate risk where there is a need for sustained, essential and unavoidable contact.
All visitors to prisons, including representatives of monitoring boards and volunteer organisations, are expected to follow the latest public health guidelines for those situations.
We are making continued preparations and keeping demand for PPE under regular review as we move into the next phase of managing the outbreak.