Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 3 November 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 November 2014. It was answered by Lord Faulks (Conservative) on Monday, 17 November 2014 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Parcels

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the ban on the receipt by prisoners in England and Wales of parcels containing for example books, underwear, clothing, stationery and Christmas presents.

Answer

There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons; the revised Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) national policy framework has simply ensured greater consistency across the prison estate. We now have simple rules that allow prisoners a parcel of items when they first arrive in prison, and then only further items in exceptional circumstances. The restrictions were introduced to enhance existing security measures and to prevent the IEP policy framework from being undermined.

There is no longer a numerical limit on the amount of underwear that prisoners can have in possession; the amount they can have is subject only to overarching volumetric control limits.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2603
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Prisoners Prisons Parcels
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk