Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 182
182
Deferred
Develop and enforce national secure protocol for verifying prison legal correspondence
Conclusion
HMPPS must rapidly develop and enforce a national, secure protocol for verifying legal correspondence (e.g., mandatory secure digital portals or standardised, verifiable bar-code systems) across all prisons to eliminate the exploitation of privileged mail. (Recommendation, Paragraph 80)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response focuses on NHS England's role in delivering substance misuse services in prisons, including revising the National Substance Misuse Service Specification by Summer 2026, rather than addressing the recommendation for a secure protocol for verifying legal correspondence.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
We recognise the importance of safeguarding legal privilege while preventing its exploitation for criminal purposes. The Ministry of Justice has developed a digital service, ‘Send legal mail to prisons’ which enables recognised legal representatives to send legal and confidential access mail to prisons more securely. Launched in 2022, the service simplifies the process of sending legal and confidential access mail to all prisons and helps prevent legal privilege being exploited by criminals. The service verifies senders through their Criminal Justice Secure Mail (CJSM) email and generates a unique barcode for each item of mail, enabling prison staff to scan and process mail based on verified sender information. This barcode is printed and included with the mail for tracking and identification. Access is limited to users with a CJSM email. This service is available across the estate and whilst not mandatory, (as there might be technical or other reasons why it cannot be used), steps will be taken to seek to ensure as much legal mail as possible is channelled through it. In accordance with the Authorised Communications Controls and Interception (ACCI) policy framework, prisons are permitted to intercept the communication between a prisoner and legal advisor when there is reasonable cause, such as reliable intelligence or intention of criminal intent. Due to the level of intrusiveness, applications to intercept this type of communication must be approved by the Central Authorities Bureau (CAB) and authorised by the DG CEO of HMPPS. Alongside these measures, the department is exploring the feasibility of new technologies to screen legal mail and correspondence for illicit substances. While we fully support the principle of the recommendation, we cannot immediately mandate the use of the digital service without legislative change. However, we remain committed to strengthening mail security through guidance, technology innovation, and continued engagement with legal stakeholders.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗