§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the operating loss arising from Contract Services workshops in prisons. [164409]
§ Paul GogginsIt is not realistic for Contract Services workshop activities to break even. To cover all costs, including staffing would involve making charges that the market would be unlikely to bear.
Contract Services workshops employ some 4,000 prisoners. The difference between income received and the full cost of running contract services workshops represents the investment made in providing purposeful activity for large numbers of prisoners. Contract Services activities account for some 5,000,000 hours of purposeful activity a year.