HC Deb 22 January 1980 vol 977 c103W
Mr. Charles Irving

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the annual average cost of maintaining in prisons in England and Wales a prisoner who fits the criteria set out in section 72(1)(a) and (b) of the Mental Health Act 1959.

Mr. Brittan

A prisoners who fits the criteria set out in section 72(1)(a) and (b) of the Mental Health Act 1959 is detained in a prison appropriate to his security category and the cost of his maintenance is not separately identified. The average annual cost of keeping a person in prison in England and Wales during 1978–79 was £5,894.