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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

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

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

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

1238817

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
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, which prisons did not have secure video calling technology being used by prisoners as of 28 September 2020.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	96822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2020 answer text <p>We fully acknowledge the importance of family contact for those in custody, in line with the recommendations of Lord Farmer’s Reviews. This is why, following the necessary suspension of prison visits in March to keep prisoners, their families and staff safe during the pandemic, we introduced a range of measures including the introduction of secure video calls.</p><p>As of 28 September, we have live services operating in 103 out of the 110 establishments in scope of the roll-out. The seven prisons which have not yet been able to go live are: HMPs Hollesley Bay, Kirkham, Leyhill, Swaleside, The Mount, Warren Hill and, Oakhill Secure Training Centre. These establishments have all taken receipt of the necessary equipment and staff have been trained. However, they have experienced networking and connectivity issues and, in some cases, have had to wait for broadband upgrades to the establishments as a whole. They are currently undertaking test calls and expect to go live as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 07/10/2020 16:01:53 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1203009

registered interest
date	11/06/2020
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, with reference to the announcement on 15 May 2020 to introduce video calling in the absence of family visits to prisons, when his Department plans to roll out video calling to the remainder of prisons in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	58630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced temporary emergency video calling in recognition of the<br> importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in<br> prisons in England and Wales. We have published information regarding the provision of video<br> calls on GOV.UK and made clear we will continue to expand secure video calling to more establishments during this time. Details of which prisons are operating live services for families and friends can be accessed via the following link;</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visit-a-prisoner-using-a-video-call" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visit-a-prisoner-using-a-video-call</a><br> <br> At the appropriate time, we will consider future options for video calling beyond<br> Covid-19 restrictions.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/06/2020 15:15:48 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1200752

registered interest
date	04/06/2020
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	Her Majesty's Government when they intend to make the provision of secure video calls in prisons subject to a competitive procurement following the current pilot.
tabling member printed	Lord Garnier
uin	HL5294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling solution in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. 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, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL5295 question first answered 16/06/2020 16:45:17 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	337 label Biography information for Lord Garnier

1200753

registered interest
date	04/06/2020
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	Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require prisoners or their families to pay for secure video calls; and if so, (1) from when, and (2) what the charge for a call will be.
tabling member printed	Lord Garnier
uin	HL5295
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>We have introduced a temporary emergency video calling solution in recognition of the importance of maintaining family contact while social visits have been temporarily suspended in prisons in England and Wales. 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, which may include a competition for such services.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL5294 question first answered 16/06/2020 16:45:17 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	337 label Biography information for Lord Garnier

1000223

registered interest
date	02/11/2018
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 assessment he has made of the merits of using video technology to allow relatives and friends to speak to convicted prisoners at appointed times.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	187327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>Visits play an important part of reducing reoffending as good relationships with family and friends is proved to reduce risk of reoffending.</p><p>The management and guidance for the use of closed visits is within Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 15/2011. The PSI specifies that closed visits should be imposed where there is an identified risk of smuggling prohibited items.</p><p>We recognise the benefits that Internet Based Video Services (IBVS) can provide in assisting prisoners with maintaining family ties. At present, however, prisoners are not allowed to use an IBVS as a way of communicating, due to operational concerns about the control measures available to safeguard the use of such communications. Work is currently underway to explore the options for the use of IBVS in establishments with strict safeguards in place, and the possibility of making greater use of such within prisons in the near future.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 187326 question first answered 12/11/2018 17:14:17 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord