Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been reprimanded for accessing the internet without permission in each year since 2011.

NOMS policy is that prisoners are only permitted very restricted access to the Internet for resettlement purposes and in a closely controlled and managed environment.

If found accessing the Internet without the permission of staff, prisoners are dealt with robustly and can be referred to the police or charged with an offence against the Prison Rules.

NOMS does not centrally record the number of prisoners who have accessed the Internet without permission. To identify them would require the examination and collation of personal records from each prison and could only be done at disproportionate cost.