Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) functionality and (b) software is included on laptops available to prisoners.

Prisoners have access on their laptops to transactional services which provides self service capability, such as menu and canteen ordering, e-mail a prisoner and topping up pin-phone credit, as well as Content Hub, which is software developed in-house by one of our MoJ Digital and Technology teams. This provides secure access to a tightly controlled selection of digital services and includes a range of appropriate educational, vocational, mental health and wellbeing (such as combating addiction) content.

Users of these devices do not have access to the internet and multiple layers of security protection ensure services and devices are secure. Automated monitoring is in place to ensure any suspicious activity is detected and investigated.