The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 24th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what proportion of cells in (1) the female prison estate, and (2) the male prison estate, have in-cell telephony; and what proportion of cells in each prison have that facility.
Lord Bellamy (Con): There are a total of 10 Women’s Public Sector Prisons (8 closed and 2 open) in England which are run by His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service.
- All cells in the 8 prisons within the women’s closed estate have 100% In-Cell Telephony.
- Neither of the 2 prisons within the women’s open estate have any In-Cell Telephony, 0%.
There are a total of 97 Men’s Prisons (84 closed and 13 open) in England and Wales, which are run by His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service.
Of the 84 closed men’s prisons:
- 78 prisons have received In-Cell Telephony throughout, 100%.
- 4 prisons are currently at the end of implementation, therefore these prisons are 98% live with In-Cell Telephony and should complete within the next two weeks.
- 2 prisons are at implementation stage and are due to complete on February 24, therefore the proportion is currently 0%.
Of the 13 open men’s prisons:
- 1 prison has In-Cell Telephony throughout, 100%.
- 12 prisons do not have any In-Cell Telephony, 0%.
It is important to note that there are limitations to call usage on these devices. The PIN Phone system enables this as it can be configured on a site by site basis to best suit the needs of the site. This configuration applies to the time scales in which calls can be made, the number of calls which a single prisoner can make within those timescales and also the maximum amount of time the prisoner can spend on calls.
Additionally, each prisoner is issued a unique PIN number which they will use to make outside calls. These PIN numbers are pre-loaded with calling credit and also contain pre-approved numbers which security have sanctioned for the prisoner to use. The prison can configure the system to decide when the phones will be available to the prisoner. Support frameworks such as the Samaritans are accessible 24hrs a day via a dedicated PIN number which is available to prisoners.
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what is the cost per minute to make a call from (1) a prison wing payphone, and (2) an in-cell phone, to (a) a landline, and (b) a mobile phone, at (i) weekends, and (ii) weekdays.
Lord Bellamy: The cost per minute for prison wing payphone and in-cell phones are:
Calls to UK fixed lines:
3.10 pence during the week midnight Sunday to midday Friday
2.75 pence during the weekend midday Friday to midnight Sunday
Calls to UK mobiles:
6.88 pence during the week midnight Sunday to midday Friday
4.50 pence during the weekend midday Friday to midnight Sunday
Prisons are able to limit when calls can be made and the duration of time an individual can use a PIN phone for on a given day. These limitations will reflect the local capacity to handle multiple calls concurrently and their requirement to resource the monitoring of specific calls.
Prisoners pay for their own calls using prison earnings or money sent into them from family and friends. Calls to organisations such as the Samaritans are free to prisoners with HMPPS paying for these directly.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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