Written question asked by Derek Wyatt (Labour) on Monday, 28 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 December 2005. It was answered by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Monday, 19 December 2005 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisons

Question: (2) for what reasons the cost of telephone calls from BT telephones in prisons differs from the cost charged to those using BT telephones elsewhere.

Answer: The cost of prisoners' telephone calls is reviewed quarterly. Call rates are no longer linked to public payphone rates, they are agreed under the terms of the contract with BT which allows the Prison Service to set appropriate charges, taking account of the pattern of calls, as well as maintenance costs. The minimum charge, which is lower than that for public phones, reflects the fact that prisoners' calls tend to be of short duration.

Secondary information