§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the personal possessions that a prison inmate, serving a life sentence in a prison in England or Wales, is allowed to have in the cell; and if he will make a statement. [27957]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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 from A. J. Butler to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 8 May 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the personal possessions that life sentence prisoners are allowed to have in their cells.The personal possessions that prisoners, including those serving life sentences, are allowed to have in their cells varies between establishments and are listed in each prison's published statement of facilities. Prison Standing Orders specify a number of personal 161W items which prisoners may have in their possessions, which can be added to at the governor's discretion. The type of items permitted are determined by considerations such as security; health and safety; and by how appropriate they are to the custodial sentence the prisoner is serving.The overall amount of property prisoners are allowed in their cells is subject to volumetric controls, currently being introduced in all prisons in England and Wales.