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

1205709

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons in England and Wales were providing virtual visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61691
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61692 61693 61694 61695 61696 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205710

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timeframe is for each prison in England and Wales to provide virtual visits.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61693 61694 61695 61696 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205711

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on prisons in England and Wales that have experienced problems with the virtual visits system that resulted in (a) delayed visits and (b) the prevention of the provision of those visits.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61692 61694 61695 61696 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205712

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds a list of the names of prisoners that are prohibited from accessing virtual visits.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61694
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61692 61693 61695 61696 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205713

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria his Department uses to determine whether a prisoner is eligible to access virtual visits.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61692 61693 61694 61696 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205714

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse is of the (a) installation and (b) operation of virtual visits in each prison in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61696
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61692 61693 61694 61695 61697 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1205715

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the contract to provide virtual visit technology to prisons in England and Wales was put out to tender.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	61697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. Due to the urgency of the situation and the complexity required in assessing and approving a solution to provide these services, a direct award under Regulation 32 (2) (c) was made. We have published information regarding the provision of video calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time.</p><p>The list of prisons providing video calling visits to prisoners on the 18 June 2020 was as follows; Berwyn, Bronzefiled, Buckley Hall, Chelmsford, Cookham Wood, Deerbolt, Downview, Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Full Sutton, Gartree, Guys Marsh, High Down, Hull, Send, Stocken, Swinfen Hall, Wayland, Werrington, and Wetherby. We are currently engaged with further establishments to train and help prepare them to introduce this service, which means further establishments will go live at different times based on local preparedness. Some establishments have encountered local network and connectivity issues which have required bespoke technical solutions to be developed to allow them to commence live calls.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of offenders who are denied access, specific incidents that have led to issues, and the costs involved with the system broken down by prison. In principle, all prisoners will have access to video calls, however, Governors and Directors may withhold access from prisoners where, based on an assessment of risk, to do so is necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate under Prison Rule 34 or YOI Rule 9. In these instances the reasons for withholding access must be recorded. As we are in the process of implementing provision more widely throughout the estate it is too early to make operational assessments, however, this will be conducted at a suitable time.</p><p>At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling across the estate beyond Covid-19 restrictions, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 61691 61692 61693 61694 61695 61696 question first answered 30/06/2020 09:34:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1353039

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of limited visitations on the (a) welfare and (b) health of women in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	43634
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2021 answer text <p>We recognise the importance of positive family contact for all prisoners in custody. When regime restrictions were introduced in prisons to control the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, we acted quickly to ensure that prisoners could maintain family contact despite the exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Visits in exceptional circumstances and visits to children in custody continued throughout. Women’s prisons were prioritised for the roll-out of secure video calling, and additional access to video calls and phone credit were provided to promote communication with family, especially children. Closed women’s prisons were also prioritised in the roll out of in-cell telephony.</p><p> </p><p>We produced tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures, including women. We also produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans.</p><p> </p><p>From March 2021, prisons resumed social visits where it was safe to do so, as they moved to Stage 3 of the National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services. All prisons are currently offering in-person prison visits and we continue to maximise the use of video calling to support positive family ties.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 14/09/2021 15:59:24 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1353040

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timetable is for recommencing in-person prison visits; and for what reason he has decided upon that timetable.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	43635
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2021 answer text <p>Our plan for easing restrictions in prisons (and re-introducing them where necessary) will be guided by public health advice alongside an operational assessment of what can be safely implemented, whilst ensuring we can keep staff and prisoners safe. The National Framework for prison regimes, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June 2020 and updated 18 August 2021: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services</a></p><p> </p><p>We had to suspend routine social visits to adults in prisons over the winter, due to the risks from Covid-19, although visits in exceptional circumstances and visits to children in custody continued. From March 2021, prisons resumed social visits where it was safe to do so, as they moved to Stage 3 of the Framework. All prisons are currently offering in-person prison visits, with physical contact allowed for all people aged under 11, to reflect public health advice on the lower transmission risks for that age group and particular needs of children. In addition, two adults from two different households are now able to visit together, making it easier for prisoners to see more people.</p><p> </p><p>We are also conducting a national rollout allowing visitors to Stage 2 prisons to produce a negative rapid test result in order to have physical contact with the person they are visiting and access to refreshment facilities. Social distancing measures will remain in place at this time for those aged over 11 who cannot provide a negative test result.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to maximise the use of video calling to support positive family ties.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 43637 question first answered 14/09/2021 15:53:06 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves