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<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>
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