§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure was on education in prisons in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; what was the real terms change in each year; what was the total amount per prisoner based on average prison population figures in each year; and if he will make a statement. [5117]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 19 July 2001]The information in the table is available for certain identifiable areas of education expenditure, covering payments to education and library service providers and purchase of education materials. It does not include the private sector managed prisons. The cost per prisoner calculation excludes the average population figures for those prisons.
It should be noted that due to changes in the way expenditure has been recorded the figures for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 include VAT payments, where applicable, but do not include refunds to prisons of any recoverable VAT, details of which are not readily available, whereas the figures for the preceding three years do include such refunds.