Young offenders are being allowed to make Skype calls from behind bars to talk to their friends and families.
Teenage inmates have also been given in-cell telephones to help them stay in touch with their loved ones.
The scheme emerged in a report by the prisons watchdog into the young person’s unit at HMP Parc in Bridgend, South Wales, which holds up to 60 boys aged between 15 to 18.
HMP Parc in Bridgend, South Wales ran a scheme that saw 60 male prisoners aged between 15 and 18 being given access to tablets with Skype on them
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has permitted the detainees access to taxpayer-funded laptop computers and iPad-style tablets to speak to their families using video-calling technology.
Ministers say the so-called ‘virtual visits’ are intended to help rehabilitate young offenders and prevent them falling back into a life of crime by maintaining strong links with their relatives while they are locked up.
The MoJ said prisoners were not given access to the internet, and strict controls were in place to ensure the technology is not abused.
But critics will seize on the findings as fresh evidence that jails are too cushy and becoming ‘holiday camps’. They will add to concerns at a time when governors are facing a security crisis.
The report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, praised HMP Parc – managed by private firm G4S – for supporting teenage inmates to have ‘quality contact’ with relatives and friends.
It said: ‘Boys could book visits using the electronic kiosk on the wings, and could keep in contact using their in-cell telephones.
‘Parents welcomed this contact and felt that their child was able to report issues to them quickly. Skype had been used for two boys in the last six months, with arrangements for another boy to use this facility.’ But Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: ‘Prisons are meant to be prisons, not holiday camps. A lot of my constituents would like to use Skype but can’t afford to do so or have the necessary technology.
‘Most will be outraged that these sort of freedoms are being given to those who are supposed to be being punished for committing crimes.’ There have been several calls for technology to play a greater role behind bars to boost prison education programmes and the ability of inmates to stay in touch with their families.
Last year a Government-ordered review proposed that some prisoners should be able to use video-calling technology for ‘virtual visits’.
The report by Tory peer Lord Farmer recommended that inmates should be able to use iPads to Skype their families from behind bars.
The multi-millionaire hedge fund boss, who was ennobled by David Cameron after he donated millions to the party, said boosting links between offenders and their families would reduce the likelihood of them reoffending when they are released.
In October, the Mail told how inmates at HMP Wayland near Thetford, Norfolk, were being handed laptops so they can order treats from their cells.
Inmates can purchase food, including chocolate bars, tinned fruit, tea bags and coffee, toiletries, stamps and batteries the weekly prison shop system, also known as the ‘canteen list’.
The report into HMP Parc praised the prison for supporting teenage inmates to have ‘quality contact’ with relatives and friends
Although they do not have access to the internet, they can choose items from a list approved by the Ministry of Justice if there is enough money in their prison ‘spends account’, which holds money earned in jail or sent in by family and friends.
Criminals also use the taxpayer-funded tablets to select meals and sign up for educational and workplace courses as part of their rehabilitation.
And in January last year, it emerged that prisoners at HMP Hewell, a Category B jail in Worcestershire, were allowed to order themselves treats from Amazon from their cells.
They could buy computer games, CDs, DVDs, trainers, electronic appliances, cosmetics and clothes from the internet store and retailers such as Argos.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons, which visited the unit at HMP Parc in October, said it had shown ‘quite significant improvement’ in key aspects, including safety, in the past year.
G4S director for HMP Parc Janet Wallsgrove said: ‘This report shows the excellent work of the team here at Parc, who are dedicated to providing a safe and secure facility for the young people in our care.’
Michael Spurr, chief executive of HM Prison & Probation Service, said: ‘Parc has significantly improved the services it provides for young people, which is a credit to the director and her team.