Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on purchasing clothing for prisoners in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that cost will be recovered from prisoners.

The majority of prisoner clothing is manufactured within prison workshops. This provides meaningful work for prisoners and helps keep costs down.

From April 2014 to March 2015, £630,750 was spent on clothing from outside suppliers to top up production from prison workshops.

Individual prisons can choose to recover the costs of clothing for prisoners at the discretion of the governor. Data on this is not held centrally.