Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average spending per head on prison libraries was for (a) male and (b) female prisoners in the latest period for which figures are available.

The average prison libraries spend for each prisoner for 2012-13 (the latest year for which figures are available) is £105 for the male prison estate and £134 for the female prison estate. The combined cost for each prisoner (male and female) is £106.

The figures are based on the average male and female population figures for 2012-13 and the designation of prisons into the male or female estate according to their major function as at 31 March 2013.

Costs have been drawn from NOMS central accounting records, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison library services are provided by the local authority library service for all public sector prisons in a way that is consistent with that available to library users in the wider community. Library services also may be commissioned locally by prisons to meet the individual needs of the local prisoner population.

The Prison Service has always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners. Every prison has a library which is available to all prisoners to make sure they have access to books and other material for education and training purposes.