§ 8. Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total acreage of farmland in the ownership of the prison department or within its management.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Mrs. Angela Rumbold)Some 8,600 acres of the prison estate are framed for production.
§ Mr. FieldAs it is more than three and a half years since the National Audit Office published its report on the prison farms, could my right hon. Friend make a 405 statement to the House on what progress has been made? Is she aware that the report particularly highlighted the acceptable and unavoidable inefficiency costs of prison farms? Can she place in the Library figures for the yield per acre expressed in produce and income terms?
§ Mrs. RumboldMy hon. Friend will be glad to know that the survey was completed some two years ago. The net outcome was a conclusion that the prison farm service is a cost effective and good service. It is more cost effective to run the service this way rather than any other way. He will also be glad to know that some £2 million of income is generated by the farms over and above the supplies with which they support the prisons.
§ Mr. Tim SmithWhy does the prison department own 8,600 acres of farmland?
§ Mrs. RumboldThat is a matter which my hon. Friend may contemplate by considering the history of the prison farm service. It was always considered useful for the prison department to own farmland in order to make supplies available to the prisons and to provide work for prison inmates.