Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the prison service treats letters written by prisoners from within prisons in England and Wales and addressed to elected officials differently depending on (a) whether the prison is public sector or contracted out, (b) security categorisation, (c) other differences between prisons in England and Wales.

All prisoners are required to sign and agree to a set of terms and conditions, which prohibits unacceptable content, before they are allowed to correspond with people in the community. Those who breach these rules can face disciplinary actions.

Correspondence between prisoners and elected officials, except for local councillors, is treated as confidential, and therefore is only opened or read when identified as necessary and proportionate to do so. Any unwanted contact raised with prisons, including contact with a current or previous victim(s), can and will be prevented. This approach is applied consistently across the prison estate in England and Wales.