Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 July 2008.

Prisoners: Telephone Calls

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to reduce the cost of telephone calls to and from prisoners, following comments about tariffs by the National Consumer Council, the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and independent monitoring boards.

Answer: There are no plans to reduce the cost of telephone calls for prisoners in light of the NCC comments. However, we are implementing reductions for some international calls following negotiation with the provider. The PINPhone system in prisons is a specific product designed to ensure safe and secure use of telephones by prisoners. Prices are not currently linked to public payphone rates. The National Offender Management Service continues to discuss the cost of calls with the providers but they are not contractually obliged to reduce the cost. To do this without their agreement would require a large subsidy from the taxpayer. The current contract is in place until 2011 and the retendering project will commence this year. Reasonable call prices for prisoners will form part of the requirements of the new contract.

Secondary information