§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether religious artefacts are excluded from the volumetric control applied to property which a prisoner may have in his or her possession.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Lord Avebury from the Director of Personnel of the Prison Service, Mr. David Scott, dated 18th June 1996:
Baroness Blatch has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about whether religious artefacts are excluded from the volumetric controls applied to property which a prisoner may have in his or her possession.
Volumetric control of prisoners' property is currently being introduced across the Service with the aim of facilitating more effective searching. The limit imposed of two large boxes plus an outsized item allows prisoners a choice of possessions from the prison's facilities list. Religious artefacts are not excluded from the volumetric control limits and it is the choice of the individual prisoner whether or not to include them in his or her property.