§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost per prisoner place, as measured by the Prison Service's net current expenditure divided by the total number of prison places for each of the past 12 months in England and Wales. [16266]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 31 March 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the average cost per prisoner place for each of the past 12 months.Cost per place is calculated on an annual basis. Variations in the pattern of expenditure mean that monthly expenditure is not a meaningful indicator.This information is published annually on a financial year basis once the Prison Service Audited Appropriation figures are available. The most recently available cost per place figures are those published in the Prison Service Annual Report for 1993–94.