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1331342

registered interest
date	09/06/2021
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, when physical contact will be allowed between visitors and prisoners during visits as part of the easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	13043
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2021 answer text <p>Whilst restrictions on physical contact are easing in the community, high-risk and closed environments like prisons, hospitals and care homes are still required to take extra measures to stop infections spreading. In England and Wales almost all establishments have now commenced delivery of Stage 3 of the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/889689/prisons-national-framework.pdf" target="_blank">National Framework</a>, which allows for social visits with social distancing and face coverings. We are working with Public Health England and Public Health Wales to look at how we can take safe and incremental steps to improve the visits experience. We are acutely aware of the impact of this on prisoners and their loved ones, but social distancing will need to continue for now for most in-person visits to protect visitors and people in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Physical contact, however, is now allowed during prison visits for children aged under 11 to reflect public health advice on their needs and the relative transmission risks for that age group. In addition, two adults from two different households can now visit together, making it easier for prisoners to see more people.</p><p> </p><p>A pilot scheme has been commenced involving six prisons, allowing physical contact for visitors who can confirm that they have tested negative on the day of the visit. The information we get from this pilot will aid our national plans for the safe provision of visits.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 18/06/2021 11:02:26 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1308239

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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 steps his Department is taking to facilitate visits to prisons that are not currently allowing social visitors; and what steps he is taking to support prisons in reaching stage 3 of the covid-19 national framework for prison regimes and services.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	179675
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, 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: <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>Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.</p><p>We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.</p><p> </p><p>We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.</p><p> </p><p>Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 179676 179677 question first answered 15/04/2021 15:36:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1308242

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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 steps his Department is taking to support the wellbeing of prisoners that are unable to receive social visitors due to covid-19 health restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	179676
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, 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: <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>Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.</p><p>We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.</p><p> </p><p>We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.</p><p> </p><p>Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 179675 179677 question first answered 15/04/2021 15:36:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1304490

registered interest
date	22/03/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise the use of videophones by prisoners with children while family visits are not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have for similar prioritisation for prisoners held at long-distance from their families when the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic have ended.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2021 answer text <p>We are committed to continuing to offer secure video calling after the current Covid-19 restrictions have ended, and are considering future options in line with the recommendations of Lord Farmer’s reviews for maintaining family ties. We will continue to be guided by public health advice, and we will work with our stakeholders to inform our longer-term planning.</p><p> </p><p>Secure video calls are now running in all public and private prisons and Young Offender Institutions across England and Wales. This was introduced alongside other measures to support family engagement, such as additional mobile phone handsets and extra phone credit while social visits have been suspended. Social visits in the Youth Custody Service estate have continued and on compassionate grounds in the adult estate.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 07/04/2021 12:44:38 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1302302

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria need to be satisfied to allow family visits of prisoners to resume; what date they plan to resume family visits of prisoners; and what plans they have to provide more video-capable telephones in prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Social visits in adult prisons have been suspended during the period of national lockdown, but will resume once it is safe to do so.</p><p>Decisions will be based on public health advice, assessments of local outbreaks and ability to safely facilitate visits, and so dates may vary between different sites. No sites will resume visits before the end of March when the ‘stay at home’ order is expected to be lifted under the government roadmap on easing restrictions.</p><p>Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown.</p><p>Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales, though there are no plans to provide video-capable telephones at this time. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony. Additionally, within open prisons, mobile phones have been permitted as a transitional measure for family contact. Further considerations for their use are being made in line with regime recovery and availability of secure video calls across all open prisons.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 26/03/2021 14:21:37 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton