§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total amount was of public expenditure on purposeful activity in prison in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [128298]
§ Mr. BoatengIt is not possible to isolate accurately and calculate the total cost of the wide range of disparate activities which comprise purposeful activity. Although the level of such activity is comprehensively monitored, many of the costs cannot be meaningfully separated from the overall budget of running an establishment, for example staff costs.
An indication of the investment in purposeful activity is provided by the following central allocation for specific elements of purposeful activity.
65W
Expenditure on education1 £ 1995–96 36,956,087 1996–97 34,507,378 1997–98 36,174,320 1998–99 39,049,875 1999–2000 47,445,945 1Covers payments to education providers, payments for libraries and for education materials
Expenditure on industries and farms1 £ 1995–96 24,680,000 1996–97 27,080,000 1997–98 28,442,000 1998–99 28,889,000 1999–2000 26,695,000 1Covers expenditure on raw materials and small tools and maintenance, but not staff costs or overheads