Taxpayers’ £7.2m bill for TV sets in prisons
TAXPAYERS paid £7.2million for televisions in prisons over the past four years, it emerged yesterday.
The cost of letting inmates watch TV in their cells in 139 jails in England and Wales, was revealed after a Freedom of Information request.
The Prison Service had said the cost was met by inmates who pay around £1 a week. But over the period they paid just £8.6million. The shortfall was met by taxpayers.
From April 2009 to March 2013 the Ministry of Justice spent £15,794,815 on TVs. It is thought higher costs were linked to replacing analogue sets in the digital switchover.
An insider said: “The public don’t like paying for prisoners to sit about watching TV.”
Matthew Sinclair, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “People will be shocked at the bill. Prisoners are there to be punished, not to enjoy mod cons.”
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced a crackdown on “holiday camp” jails in February. That included ensuring TVs in cells were a privilege rather than a right.