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<p>Prison library providers make sure that the range of reading and reference material
available in each library reflects the diverse needs of the prisoners held. Prison
Service Instruction 02/2015, published in February 2015, has an expectation that the
language needs of prisoners should be met where this is reasonably possible. The number
of books available in any given language will be proportionate to the population's
requirement.</p><p> </p><p>An inter-library loan request service, facilitated by the
librarian or library assistant, enables prisoners to request books in the same way
as library users in the community. Welsh speakers can ask for Welsh language books
to be provided via this service.</p><p> </p><p>Information about what particular Welsh
language library books are stocked in female prisons in England is not held centrally
and will need to be collated through enquiries at these prisons. At HMP Eastwood Park,
which holds the largest number of women with home postcodes in Wales, and also at
HMP Styal, I have enquired about the availability of Welsh language books and seen
Welsh language books in both libraries. I will write to the hon Member when we have
been able to obtain any additional information about Welsh language books in other
women’s prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Women prisoners whose home postcode is in Wales have
the same access to facilities as all other women prisoners, to support their appropriate
rehabilitation and their resettlement back to Welsh communities. This includes the
provision of Welsh language services, under the Welsh Language Scheme, for prisoners
whose preferred language is Welsh.</p><p> </p><p>There are strong links between HMP
Eastwood Park and the National Offender Management Service in Wales. A number of initiatives
provide resettlement support to Welsh women prisoners there. These include the Integrated
Offender Management Cymru: Women's Pathfinder project, which is seeking to design
and deliver a women-specific, integrated, whole-system approach to working with those
who come into contact with the criminal justice system in Wales and which includes
other relevant female prisons.</p><p> </p><p>HMP Styal, which holds women whose home
is in North Wales, also has strong links with Wales. As a member of the Women’s Pathfinder
Project Board along with HMP Eastwood Park, Styal is involved in the development of
the project, which is due to be piloted in North Wales from April 2015 and which will
link directly with the prison.</p><p> </p><p>The new arrangements for transforming
rehabilitation are expected to strengthen the links between women offenders whose
homes are in Wales, and all the prisons in which they serve their sentence.</p>
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