Decision Report 201400314

Summary

Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the prison were refusing to allow him to buy the books he wanted. He claimed there was a complete ban on introducing literature into the prison.

We found that prisoners could ask to buy books, and that if the books were appropriate, and a prisoner had enough money, these could then be bought through the prison's authorised suppliers. We also found that the prison had made enquiries on Mr C's behalf about the books he wanted, and not all of these were available through authorised suppliers. Mr C could have those that were available, but would have to pay for them himself and, given the cost, he needed to save enough money to buy them. We found no evidence of a ban, and no evidence that the prison prevented Mr C from buying books.