Prisoners' Release: Mobile Phones

(asked on 6th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the practice of providing mobile phones to prison leavers who do not have access to a phone of their own has ended in any prison in (a) England and (b) Wales.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 12th October 2020

Basic mobile phones have been purchased by the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic while probation is operating under an Exceptional Delivery Models (EDMs). This is in order to maintain contact with offenders in the community who do not have access to a phone of their own, while they adhere to social distancing measures. The phones are only capable of voice communication and text communication and do not have internet access.

CRCs have been advised that phones should continue to be issued to any offender leaving prison without one. As social distancing measures are relaxed, and in instances where face to face reporting is accessible for service users, the provision of phones will not be required.

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