Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which privately operated prison the approach of the use of a voluntary sector co-ordinator was developed and evaluated.

Individual Directors of PMPs assess the benefits of building links with the voluntary sector locally and have the discretion to engage with volunteers and voluntary organisations as they see fit, forging links with the local community and complementing local provision.

Privately Managed Prisons have not developed the use of a specific Voluntary Sector Co-ordinators. But privately managed prisons such as Parc and Thameside have track records of sustained, high-quality work with the voluntary sector.

We do not tell Privately Managed Prisons which staff to deploy, that is for them, but we do manage the contracts closely and take action where there are shortcomings.