Study shows way to better prison food

By Andrew Sangster

Food in prison is likely to be cooked too far in advance and served at the wrong time of day, according to a new report.

But the National Audit Office (NAO) study, Prison Catering, found that on the whole, the quality of catering in the 133 prisons in England and Wales was acceptable.

Consultants from Deloitte & Touche were sent to 12 prisons to make a thorough assessment. In only one jail, Coldingley in Surrey, were standards considered poor. But in several prisons caterers came under fire for serving inmates their last meal of the day at around 4.30pm.

Another criticism was that only one prison in the sample served food within half-an-hour of preparation. Three prisons served food which had been prepared two or more hours previously.

The cost of providing 60 million meals a year was estimated at £60m, or about £3 per prisoner per day.

The NAO suggested a number of ways this could be trimmed, including as much as £5m of savings a year by reducing food costs, which average 53% of total costs, to just £1.27 per prisoner per day from the current £1.52.

Savings could also be made by reducing the amount of food held as stock in the kitchen. A review of supply operations is under way, and is expected to significantly reduce the length of stockholding from the current average of 27 days.

The prison service said it was pleased that the report recognised that a good job was being done in difficult circumstances. "We accept there's still a lot to be done," added a spokesman.

Prison Catering costs £8.95 and is available through HM Stationery Office. Tel: 0171-873 0011.