§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the weekly budget allocation per prison inmate for breakfast, lunch, tea and supper on 1 January 1973, 1 January 1983 and 1 January 1993; and what account is taken of inflation in uprating the allowance.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThere is no weekly budget allocation per inmate for food. Inmates are fed to a predetermined dietary scale which provides them with a set quantity of food and is therefore not affected by inflation. The items 135W on this scale are either purchased from centrally negotiated call-off contracts or provided by Prison Service farms and gardens group.
§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons which have contracted out their catering functions; what arrangements have been made for monitoring the carrying out of the contract; and what system is in place to respond to complaints about the service provided.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe catering function is contracted out in the following prisons:
- Belmarsh
- Bullingdon
- Down view
- Highdown
- Holme House
- Woodhill
- Lancaster Farms
Prison Service area catering managers inspect and report on technical standards in all prisons. This includes monitoring contract caterers for their compliance with the contract. Contractors are responsible to governors for the satisfactory overall performance of the contract.
The system for dealing with complaints about the service provided by a contract caterer is the same as for prisons with an in-house catering service.