Written question asked by Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench) on Monday, 23 February 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 March 2015. It was answered by Lord Faulks (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 March 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Libraries

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners were able, and were not able, in accordance with PSI 45/2011, for the mandatory 30 minutes every two weeks in each month since that regulation came into force, to access the library in each prison establishment in England and Wales.

Answer: Prison libraries play a positive role in supporting rehabilitation and resettlement through offering a range of resources and activities, including literacy and reader development work. However, information about the average number and length of visits to prison libraries, and the extent to which prisoners had access to the library, is not held centrally and would need to be collated through enquiries at every prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Secondary information