Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1471430

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Video Conferencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will increase the current entitlement of prisoners to make video calls.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	20287
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>We remain committed in continuing to offer social video calls, as we have clear evidence that these, alongside face-to-face visits, telephone calls, voicemail and email, help maintain contact with families and significant others. Maintaining such ties is not only important for the well-being of prisoners but has also been shown to reduce reoffending.</p><p>At present, we are operating this offer in accordance with our interim policy which enables one free 30-minute call per prisoner, per month. Additional calls are also available at the discretion of Governors.</p><p>A longer-term policy is being developed to support our commitment to sustaining social video calling and we are considering options in line with our commitments in the Prison Strategy White Paper.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 27/06/2022 15:38:19 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1454347

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Video Conferencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what amount of entitlement to free video calls prisoners receive; and how that amount was decided.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	147092
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2022 answer text <p>Secure social video calling was introduced in all prisons across England and Wales as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain family ties when social visits were limited in prisons. To offer fair and equal access, all prisoners are offered one 30-minute video call per month at no cost to them or their families as an alternative form of social contact. Additional video calls may also be offered at local discretion.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to continue providing secure social video calling as an additional method of communication, in line with our commitment in the Prisons Strategy White Paper and we will use lessons learnt from the roll out during the pandemic to inform future long-term policy direction.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/04/2022 09:26:18 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1241778

	registered interest
	date	08/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Video Conferencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons in England and Wales have a prison video link.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	101003
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>101 sites across the men’s, women’s and youth custody estate have at least one prison video link. Work is in hand with the aim of equipping all prisons with video links by the end of this financial year, subject to any unforeseen impacts of Covid-19.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 16/10/2020 11:27:05 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1682234

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Video Conferencing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion, of prisons in England and Wales currently provide secure video calls for prisoners.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
	uin	HL1567
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2024 answer text <p>All prisons (100%) across England and Wales have the capability to offer secure video calls with approved family members and friends, responding to demand from prisoners.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 29/01/2024 18:00:29 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	4540 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Gloucester

1253983

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Video Conferencing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which prisons currently have video calling facilities to allow people in prison to maintain contact with family members; what plans they have, if any, to expand such facilities across the prison estate; and what the cost of video calls will be under any such plans.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
	uin	HL10509
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2020 answer text <p>We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for prisoners. Following the re-imposition of national restrictions on 5 November, we have paused face-to-face social visits in prisons in England, except on compassionate grounds, including visits to children in custody. Family visits in Wales are permitted in line with restrictions in the community, although in some establishments with active outbreaks they have been temporarily suspended on public health grounds. We will reintroduce face-to-face social visits as soon as safe to do so, guided by public health advice alongside an operational assessment of what can safely be implemented.</p><p>For those prisons that do not have access to in-cell telephony, we introduced over 1,500 secure mobile handsets which can be used to contact family and friends via the usual PIN phone system. In addition, the Prison Voicemail service and Email a Prisoner service are available in all prisons. There are also further initiatives such as unmarked letter writing resources, ‘Bedtime Stories’ which allow residents to record themselves reading a story to their child, and opportunities to make items that they can send to them.</p><p>Secure video calls provide another option for families, including those with children of all ages, to stay in touch. Arrangements for secure video calls have been introduced in virtually all prisons across England and Wales. Details of which prisons are operating live services for families and friends can be accessed on GOV.UK. The remainder of the estate is expected to have these facilities by the end of December. We have committed to the fact that there will be no cost of video calls to either families or those in custody during this time. At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions.</p><p>We continue to learn lessons from this to inform both the current service and longer-term planning in line with the recommendations of Lord Farmer’s reviews for maintaining family ties.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook grouped question UIN HL10508 question first answered 03/12/2020 17:56:21 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
	tabling member	4540 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Gloucester