29 November 2021
C142193
Alice Jenkinson
[FYI request #16991 email] Tēnā koe Alice
Thank you for your email of 1 October 2021, requesting information about COVID-19
Alert Level 2 restrictions in prisons and volunteer visits. Your request is being
considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
You requested:
1) What restrictions are in place for non-Corrections staff running programmes
in prison during COVID-19 Alert Level 2?
2) Please provide me with the total number of “approved volunteer” visits to
prisons, per week, since January 1, 2019, broken down by prison. Please
provide me with this information in an Excel spreadsheet file.
We have decided to grant your request in part, namely information which relates to
COVID-19 restrictions during Alert Level 2 and a weekly breakdown of volunteer
visits to prisons from 1 January 2019 until 31 May 2020. However, it will take us
some time to prepare this information for release. We will send you that information
as soon as possible.
We have decided to refuse your request for information which relates to a weekly
breakdown of volunteer visits to prisons from 1 June 2020 onwards under section
18(g) of the OIA, as the information requested is not held by Corrections, and we
have no grounds for believing that it is held by another agency or more closely
connected with the functions of another agency. However, we will be providing a
monthly breakdown of volunteer visits to prisons during this period.
I trust the notice of this decision is of assistance. Should you have concerns with this
response, I encourage you to raise them with Corrections. Alternatively, you are
advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman,
PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Ngā mihi
Robert Jones
Manager Ministerial Services
People and Capability