Prisoners on Remand: Disability

All prisoners with mobility issues are provided with access to medical appointments, washing facilities and time out of doors: these are core elements of the prison regime.

The Equality Act 2010 requires prisons to make reasonable adjustments to ensure prisoners with disabilities are not placed at substantial disadvantage, and the Public Sector Equality Duty places an additional expectation on prisons to have due regard to the elimination of discrimination, including disability discrimination.

The Advancing Equality for Offenders Policy Framework further requires prison governors to consider on an ongoing basis what adjustments disabled offenders might require and ensure that reasonable adjustments are made and that all prisons have access to activities.

Prisons are required actively to support the maintenance of family ties. Governors are expected to encourage meaningful contact between prisoners and their families, including through regular visits. The Equality Act includes a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled prisoners and/or their visitors are not disadvantaged, including in relation to access to visits. Staff must consider the needs of visitors with mobility, hearing, speech or sight impairments or any other disability and how the physical visits environment can be adapted to enable the visit to take place. These principles mean that prisoners and/or their visitors with mobility difficulties must be able to attend visits, and prisons are expected to adapt arrangements where necessary. In practice, this can include wheelchair-accessible facilities, assistance in getting to visits, flexible seating arrangements, or alternative locations if standard visit areas are not accessible.

Prison Service Instruction 16/2011: Managing prison visits provides, at paragraph 3.8: Requests from visitors and prisoners for reasonable adjustments in order to access the visit must be implemented in order to accommodate disabled prisoners or those with particular requirements. At the point of booking visitors must be encouraged to declare any particular requirements due to a disability or an underlying medical condition that would normally require a reasonable adjustment to be made. Staff must consider the needs of visitors with mobility, hearing, speech or sight impairments or any other disability and how the physical visits environment can be adapted to enable the visit to take place.

Prison Service Instruction 75/2011: Residential Services, which sets out standards for daily life, including washing facilities and time out of doors, includes an expectation that reasonable adjustments are made to daily routine for prisoners with mobility needs. Residential staff are required to consult relevant specialist colleagues as part of this process.