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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what newspapers are provided in prison libraries.

Jeremy Wright

Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.

Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.

Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.

Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.

Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much prisoners have to pay to order a book through the inter-library loan system.

Jeremy Wright

The NOMS policy on prisoner retail allows prisoners (via prison staff) to order books from approved mail order providers. This is at the discretion of the Governor.

An inter-library loan request service, facilitated by the librarian or library assistant, enables prisoners to request books in the same way as library users in the community.

No charge is made for prisoners using the inter-library loan service. Where a special request is necessary, for example to the British Library, a charge will be made. This is consistent with the policy applied to service users in the community.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what cultural events have been organised in prison libraries in the last year.

Jeremy Wright

Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.

Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.

Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.

Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.

Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what books in (a) foreign languages and (b) Welsh prison libraries have.

Jeremy Wright

Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.

Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.

Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.

Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.

Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the budget is for each (a) private and (b) public prison.

Jeremy Wright

Allocated budgets for individual prisons for financial year 2014-15 are in the process of being finalised and are not yet available.

Budget allocations will be made on the basis of need and according to Departmental priorities.