Prisoners: Disability and Older People

(asked on 20th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that facilities in prisons in (a) Wales and (b) England are accessible to (i) elderly people, (ii) elderly disabled people and (iii) disabled people.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 23rd January 2020

We recognise that prisoner mobility is a challenge and all prisons have individual needs based on its circumstances and population. Governors are required to identify improvements that may be needed in their sites to enable improved access to facilities for elderly or disabled prisoners. Where building work is required as part of this work, it is carried out through facilities maintenance contracts.

Additionally, every prison in England and Wales must adhere to the Equality Act 2010, including the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons. Support is also provided for all prisoners with a disability in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

In April 2018, the ‘Model for Operational Delivery for Older Prisoners’ was published to support the development of all policies, approaches and plans focussed on older people in prisons. This is currently being reviewed by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

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