Baroness Barker

Under the Banking Framework Agreement, banks choose which services they wish to offer through the Post Office network. Manual deposit services, where customers can deposit cash using a paying-in slip without a debit card, still exist for those banks under the framework who take up this service and are not being phased out.

The Post Office does not own the customer relationship or the banking products, and therefore neither Government nor the Post Office can mandate how current accounts operate or what arrangements banks put in place for cash deposits without the use of a debit card.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes overall HIV prevalence and HIV testing data annually in the HIV Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the HIV Official Statistics, which are available on the GOV.UK website. Our recently published 2025 report Understanding HIV testing contains further information on people in prison. The report is also available on the GOV.UK website.

The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report in 2025, The health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure NHS estate in England, also available on the GOV.UK’s website, highlighted the significant health challenges faced by people in prison, including in sexual health and HIV, and we are committed to addressing this.

The UKHSA is working with regional partners to carry out an audit to understand the provision of HIV diagnosis, prevention, and care in English prisons. This will highlight what barriers people are facing and what we need to do to ensure every person gets the care they deserve.

Furthermore, the UKHSA is currently independently reviewing blood borne virus service provision in prisons, including the opt-out testing programme which has been in place since 2014 to update guidance, identify areas to optimise implementation, and ensure prisoners are fully supported.

The new HIV Action Plan sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a dedicated action to deliver tailored and targeted HIV prevention, treatment, and care services to meet the needs of local populations and address inequalities, including the challenges of HIV testing in prisons.

HIV testing upon entry into prison is part of a national programme of opt-out blood borne virus (BBV) testing which tests people for hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV. Sexual health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England under the Section 7a Public Health Functions Agreement with the Department. This sets out targets for this opt-out BBV testing programme, with an efficiency target of 50% testing uptake, and an optimal performance standard of 75% testing uptake.

While uptake of a BBV test has risen from 11% in 2016/17 to 72% overall in 2022/23, this is below the 75% target and there is variation by region and prison. To inform future progress, the UK Health Security Agency is working with regional partners to carry out an audit to understand the provision of HIV diagnosis, prevention and care in English prisons.

The new HIV Action Plan sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing, and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a dedicated action to deliver tailored and targeted HIV prevention, treatment, and care services to meet the needs of local populations and address inequalities, including the challenges of HIV prevention and care in prisoners.

Sexual health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England under the Section 7a Public Health Functions Agreement with the Department. They are required to deliver care and ensure access in accordance with the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV’s prison standards, helping to ensure that all individuals in custody receive equitable healthcare comparable to that available in the community.

Access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in England is via commissioned level three sexual health services. These are commissioned by local authorities for people in the community. NHS England Health and justice commissioners arrange for these providers to enable access for detained people via referral for assessment. The service is accessed by the detained person via in-reach provision, where the sexual health team come on-site, or out-reach provision, where the individual goes out to clinic. The level three sexual health team use the same commissioning policy to provide the service on the same basis to detained people and people in the community.

HIV post exposure prophylaxis is accessed by prisoners in the same way as people in the community. They attend accident and emergency or access a Sexual Assault Referral Centre based on locally commissioned arrangements.

To inform future action, the UK Health Security Agency is working with regional partners to carry out an audit to understand the provision of HIV diagnosis, prevention, and care in English prisons.

The new HIV Action Plan, published on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing, and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a dedicated action to deliver tailored and targeted HIV prevention, treatment, and care services to meet the needs of local populations and address inequalities, including the challenges of HIV prevention and care in prisoners.

People entering prison receive healthcare assessments on reception which identify current healthcare needs and treatment. This includes identifying people who are receiving treatment for HIV. The healthcare team will use processes for accessing critical medicines to arrange an urgent supply of HIV medicines from the specialist clinic if required. The healthcare team will then ensure a referral to the local HIV specialist team if the patient is in a prison, in a location which lies outside of the area covered by their current specialist. HIV services have clear processes used to promptly transfer care between specialists.

The UK Health Security Agency is working with regional partners to carry out an audit to understand the provision of HIV diagnosis, prevention, and care in English prisons.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes overall HIV prevalence and HIV testing data annually in the HIV Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the HIV Official Statistics, available on the GOV.UK website.

Our recently published 2025 report Understanding HIV testing contains further information on people in prison. The report is also available on the GOV.UK website.

All new prison officers complete foundation training which focuses on professional standards, effective communication, and working safely and respectfully with a diverse prison population. This includes training on identifying and supporting vulnerable prisoners, managing sensitive situations, and acting in line with organisational policy and the law.

Training also covers information management and recordkeeping, reinforcing the importance of handling personal and medical information appropriately. HMPPS data protection and information governance requirements apply across the prison estate to safeguard confidentiality.

In addition, HMPPS, working with Skills for Justice, has developed a core capabilities framework for prison and probation staff who work with individuals with health, care and wellbeing needs. The framework sets out the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to support individuals in a person-centred way, including recognising needs, working in partnership with healthcare professionals, and managing sensitive information. It also supports leadership capability and can be used to strengthen existing training provision and identify gaps.

Prison healthcare services in England are commissioned by NHS England. HMPPS works in close partnership with NHS England to ensure people in custody have access to HIV testing and treatment, and that services are delivered safely and confidentially. This collaboration is underpinned by the National Partnership Agreement, which sets out shared priorities and responsibilities to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities in custodial settings.