§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of the facility provided by ARA caterers in each of the prisons where they are operating; and what are the comparable costs of catering provided by public employees compared with contractors.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 26 May 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
81WLetter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 21 June 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the cost of the facility provided by ARA caterers in each of the prisons where they are operating and about the comparable costs of catering provided by public employees compared with contractors.ARA provide a contracted catering service at Woodhill and Bullingdon. The costs of these contracts are not disclosed for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Group 4, who subcontract to ARA, provide a service at Wolds Remand Prison, the cost of which is included in the operating fee payable to the contractor.The average costs of contractors to provide catering in the eight establishments (apart from Wolds) where catering is contracted out is £552 per inmate place per year. Costs are not available on a comparable basis for establishments where the service is provided by public employees, that is, prison officers and/or civilians, but the average staff cost in such establishments is £369 per inmate place per year. This excludes all overhead costs, at establishment and national level, including administration, supply and training. These costs do not include food, for which both contractors and public sector caterers are given the same minimum allowance.