On 31 March, we announced that pregnant women and prisoners with their babies in custody will be considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Friday 1 May, 21 pregnant women and mothers with babies in custody have been released.<\/p>
<\/p>
On 4 April, we announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme. This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period. As of Friday 1 May, 30 offenders have been released under this scheme.<\/p>
<\/p>
Policy and guidance for both the End of Custody Temporary Release and COVID-19: Use of Compassionate ROTL can be found on gov.uk and is attached with this answer.<\/p>
Latest modelling informed by new Public Health England advice shows that creating headroom of c. 5,000 could be effective in limiting the spread of the virus. The population has already reduced by almost 3,000 over a seven-week period. Combining a reduction in the prison population, creating additional headroom in the estate, and managing prisoners through \u2018compartmentalisation\u2019, HMPPS can continue to protect life.<\/p> The modelling can be found on gov.uk and is also attached with this answer.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners they have so far released, temporarily or permanently, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; how many were pregnant women; and what is their response to the Prison Governors Association\u2019s call for the release of 15,000 prisoners.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1189884/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " In recognition of the importance of continued contact with family and to ensure stability in our jails the Government has moved quickly to keep prisoners in touch with their family members by the introduction of 900 secure mobile PIN phones for those prisons which do not already have in-cell telephony. These are in addition to, but operate in the same way, as wing PIN phones which remain in use.<\/p> <\/p> Behaviour is not part of the formal risk assessment for the allocation of mobile telephones for prisoners\u2019 use. Access to the locked mobile PIN phones is given following completion of a risk assessment, for those deemed to represent the greatest risk to the public and require additional safeguards approval must be given by the Governing Governor.<\/p> <\/p> There has been no recent assessment of the impact of mobile PIN telephone use on families in the absence of visits. However, Lord Farmer\u2019s Report in June 2019, \u201cThe Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime\u201d shows that facilitating regular family contact can reduce a prisoners\u2019 likelihood of reoffending by 39%. Family members are also able to contact the National Prisoners\u2019 Families helpline or the prison\u2019s safer custody line if they have individual concerns.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the opportunity for a prisoner to use a mobile telephone is determined by their good conduct; and what assessment they have made of the impact of mobile telephone usage on preventing the breakup of families in the absence of visits.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their criteria for the temporary or permanent release of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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HMPPS took decisive action in March to restrict regimes and minimise movements between jails to save lives. Strong further measures were introduced to ease pressure on prisons with the early release of low-risk offenders<\/a>, temporary expansion of the estate<\/a>, and work to reduce the number of those held on remand.<\/p>
HMPPS took decisive action in March to restrict regimes and minimise movements between jails to save lives. Strong further measures were introduced to ease pressure on prisons with the early release of low-risk offenders<\/a>, temporary expansion of the estate<\/a>, and work to reduce the number of those held on remand.<\/p>