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Prisons: Food

Volume 479: debated on Monday 21 July 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost per day of the food allowance for prisoners in (a) prison cells and (b) police station cells. (219140)

The cost of providing food in prisons is approximately £2 per prisoner per day. For prisoners held in police cells under Operation Safeguard, the cost, agreed between NOMS and ACPO, is up to a ceiling of £12. This may be exceeded under exceptional circumstances.

The difference arises because the provision of food in prison can be planned with much greater certainty and prison establishments are able to make use of bulk purchasing.