asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prisoners under sentence are allowed to write to their Member of Parliament, and whether such letters are included in the ration of letters each prisoner is allowed to write in any given period.

All prisoners are permitted to write to a Member of Parliament subject to certain limitations which are necessary in the interests of the maintenance of discipline and the proper management of prisons. They may use letters from their ordinary entitlement for this purpose, and in addition they are allowed to write one special letter to a Member of Parliament after completing their first two months in custody. A prisoner who receives a letter from a Member of Parliament which calls for a reply is allowed a further special letter for the purpose.