The population figure used to calculate funding for the Milton Keynes primary care trust (PCT) was 228,793 in 2006-07 and 231,410 in 2007-08. For both years the number of prisoners used was 218, but this figure is subtracted from the population totals. Prisoners are regarded as usually resident in a prison if they have served six months or more of a custodial sentence. This data is provided to the Department by the Office for National Statistics, which receives it from the Home Office.
Funding for health care within prisons is currently calculated and provided separately from general PCT allocations. The phased transfer of funding from HM Prison Service to PCTs was accompanied by a growth in revenue—meaning that whereas £118 million was transferred in 2002-03, by 2006-07 investment reached nearly £200 million.
Throughout this period of staged budget increases, allocations to those PCTs which have a prison in their area were calculated using a fair shares formula, constructed independently to tackle funding anomalies and take into account the type of prison, its size, the number of receptions, market forces factors and baseline budget. From 2006-07, simple percentage increases to these allocations will apply. For 2007-08, Milton Keynes will receive £3.264 million to fund prison health services, in addition to its general allocation of £277.9 million.