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Home Office

Answer

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change diets in (a) prisons and (b) young offender institutions, following recent studies on the effects of diet on behaviour. [195768] Paul Goggins: In 1996, a study was conducted at Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Aylesbury by `Natural Justice', a research charity investigating the relationship between nutrition and criminal behaviour. They reported a significant reduction in offending behaviour amongst young offenders who had taken nutritional supplements. Half of the young men participating received pills containing vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. The other half received placebo or dummy pills. The researchers recorded the number and type of offences each of the prisoners committed in the nine months before they received the pills and in the nine months during the trial. They found that the group that received the supplements committed 25 per cent. fewer offences than those who had been given the placebo. The results were independently reviewed by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) at the Home Office. RDS acknowledged that the results of the study showed a positive effect on behaviour. However, the number of participants involved was small and the study did not follow through to see whether re-offending reduced or continued once the trainees had left the establishment. This made it very difficult to validate wider implications from the results. Natural Justice have plans to replicate the project on a much broader scale. Approval was given in October 2002 for Natural Justice to have access to Warren Hill and Stoke Heath if they could satisfy ethical requirements and obtain funding for the research. On similar grounds, the Scottish Prison Service approved access to Polmont. Beyond this research, other work is taking place to ensure that individual prisoners are encouraged to eat healthily, and that the food provided is nutritious. A partnership between the catering, education and physical education departments in prisons encourages the promotion of high-starch, fibre-rich foods rather than sugary or processed ones, or those which contain too much salt or sugar. Catering staff are provided with training information and the skills required to produce healthy food. The Prison Service runs nutrition-training courses at intermediate level for prison caterers, which lead to a formal qualification from the Royal Institute of Public Health. Some establishments involve the local hospital dietician in their menu planning and some have obtained Healthy Eating Awards (Heartbeat) from their local authorities. The content of meals provided in prisons and young offender institutions is constantly evolving with prison caterers being aware of and trained to provide nutritious and healthy diets. Prisoners and young offenders are increasingly being educated and made aware of the importance of healthy eating.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

195768; 426 c1439-40W;426 c1443-4W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Diets Catering Food Health education Prisoners Prisons Staff Training Young offenders Research HM Prison Service

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk