§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which prisons are able to offer child-centred visits (as pioneered in Northern Ireland). [HL5184]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalMagilligan Prison in Northern Ireland launched a child-centred visits scheme in partnership with the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders in September 2001. The scheme was recently extended to include "Big Book Share". Maghaberry Prison plans to operate two child-centred visits pilots later this year for female and life sentence prisoners.
Prison Service policy within England and Wales is to encourage establishments to offer extended children's visits, where possible. An increasing number of prisons offer these visits, which assist imprisoned parents in maintaining their parental role, however, provision remains at the discretion of governors and is dependent on operational and resource considerations. Information on the establishments which offer child centred visits is not collated centrally by the Prison Service of England and Wales.