Dear HM Prison and Probation Service,

Please can you provide the following information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act:-

1. Please indicate what information is currently given to prisoners in the Parkhurst section of HMP Isle of Wight about the per minute call cost and/or also any connection fee or minimum call length charging period for making calls to numbers on their approved PIN calling list to both landline (01, 02) or mobile (07) numbers at peak and offpeak times. Please also indicate whether such information is provided on an information sheet given to prisoners when they sign up for a PIN phone account or also if the call information is clearly and prominently displayed next to each PIN payphone located on the wings in the prison of if there is a freephone number all prisoners can dial in order to confirm the current per minute and/or connection charges to call landline and mobile phone numbers. Also please indicate if prisoners are able to obtain any form of itemised billing about their calling history on their PIN account in the Parkhurst section of HMP Isle of Wight either generally at any time on request or in particular in the event of any unexpected reductions in their PIN phone account call credit balance that they are unable to account for.

2. If possible within the costs constraints of processing a Freedom of Information Act request please indicate what information is given to prisoners or remandees about the cost of making phone calls using either the prison PIN phone system or any other telephone systems currently available to prisoners at all other prison establishments across the UK operated by HM Prison and Probation Service (although it is believed there may be different arrangements in operation in Scotland or Northern Ireland that may necessitate further FOI requests to those bodies) or by prisons operated by subcontractors working for HM Prisons and Probation Service (eg G4S). Please also indicate whether such information is provided to prisoners on an information sheet given to prisoners when they sign up for a PIN phone account or any other phone calling account system or if the call information is clearly and prominently displayed next to each PIN payphone located on the wings in each of the prisons of if there is a freephone number that prisoners can dial to confirm the current per minute and/or connection charges to call landline and mobile phone numbers at each prison or youth offender establishment. Also please indicate if prisoners are able to obtain any form of itemised billing about their calling history on their PIN account in each prison operated by directly by HM Prison and Probation Service or by any of its privatised subcontractors (eg G4S) either generally at any time on request or in particular in the event of any unexpected reductions in their PIN phone account call credit balance that they are unable to account for.

3. If possible within the cost constraints of processing a Freedom of Information Act request please also indicate what direct proactive information is provided to prisoners using the PIN phone system or any other phone systems used by prisoners in all prisons operated by HM Prison and Probation Service or to prisoners located in prisons operated by subcontractors engaged by HM Prison and Probation Service to operate prisons (eg G4S Security) with regard to any planned increase or decrease (the latter recently being the more usual) in per minute phone call costs to landline (01/02) or mobile (07) phone numbers both in advance of any change in the cost of the phone calls and in the immediate aftermath (say in the next 1 to 3 months) of such a change in the cost of making phone calls being made?

Yours faithfully,

Julian Shersby