Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what exemptions exist in prisons for Muslims not to be searched by sniffer dogs on religious grounds.

No prisoners are exempt from searches by sniffer dogs.

During a cell search, care must be taken when handling religious artefacts, and search dogs must not come into contact with religious artefacts or holy books. Prisoners must be asked to point these out before the search, so that staff can search them by hand before the dog enters the cell.

Any request by a prisoner in the men’s estate for exemption from being searched by a female member of staff, on religious or philosophical grounds, must be made formally and considered as quickly as possible. The prisoner should not be searched by female staff in the intervening period.