§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list construction projects in the Prison Service in each of the last 10 years that have overspent; and if he will make a statement. [100229]
§ Hilary BennThis information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to review the Prison Service's contract with British Telecommunications; and if he will make a statement.[100230]
§ Hilary BennFollowing a competitive tender, the Prison Service entered into a contract with BT in 1998 to develop a new telephone system for prisoners. The new system provides improved security for prisoners by removing the need for telephone cards, which had become a source of bullying and "taxing" within prisons. It also improves security for victims and witnesses because it allows individual telephone numbers to be barred to individual prisoners. The system is now installed in more than half the prisons in England and Wales, and is expected to be installed in all prisons by next summer.
The contract was reviewed in the course of last year, and among the changes was a technical adaptation to enable foreign prisoners to make overseas calls at reduced cost. These arrangements are now being piloted in four prisons, and in the light of the conclusion of the pilots, it is hoped to extend the arrangements to all prison establishments later in the year.