§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that prison officers are subject to the same search policy before coming on duty as applies to visitors to prisoners. [8568]
§ Mr. George HowarthNo. Where rub-down searches are deployed, my right hon. Friend has just announced that professional visitors, including prison officers, will be subject to a modified search, while general visitors will continue to be subject to the full rub-search procedure. This is following a Prison Service assessment that while there are exceptions, professional visitors and staff generally pose a lower level of risk.