Report: Experiences of children visiting parents in prison

A paper examined the experiences of children who visited parents in prison in England and Wales. It said that there had been more than half a million such visits in 2013 and that children and their families often reported the experience as traumatic.

It said that prisons varied considerably in the visiting facilities available and the practices adopted, and called on the government to: appoint a lead Minister with responsibility for this group of children in England and Wales; to develop a national action plan for England, to collate and promote best practice and bring together the relevant departments and agencies; and to place a statutory duty on the courts in England and Wales to record at the point of sentencing whether prisoners had children or dependents, and to check whether the immediate arrangements for their care were adequate.