asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of administering the prison system in each of the following years: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974.

The cost of the prison system in England and Wales for the financial years 1969–70 to 1973–74 was as follows:

Years				£ million
1969–70	…	…	…	54·1
1970–71	…	…	…	62·5
1971–72	…	…	…	78·2
1972–73	…	…	…	88·4
1973–74	…	…	…	103·8

Comparable information for the year 1974–75 is not yet available.These figures include allied service expenditure and capital expenditure on building and plant. They exclude the cost of the headquarters administration of prisons which until the financial year 1974–75 was included in the total for all Home Office departments and is not separable. However, an estimate of £2·1 million for this purpose was included in the Supply Estimates for 1973–74.