Prisoners in HMP Manchester (formerly known as Strangeways) can purchase a range of items – from vapes to vegan sausages – according to its canteen sheet.
The men’s high-security prison has a capacity of over 1,200 inmates and has been part of Manchester’s infrastructure since 1868.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOI) from the Ministry of Justice has provided a canteen sheet from the beginning of September, detailing how prisoners were able to spend their money.
The most interesting find on the list was the volume of vaping products which can be bought.
Priced between £2.89 and £3.99 prisoners could easily acquire a rechargeable vape.
The cost of a raspberry ripple vape was cheaper than a box of Kelloggs Coco Pops – priced at £3.49.
Prisoners at Strangeways are able to purchase items with money sent by their families or earnings from their shifts within the prison.
According to the latest figures published in 2020 by the Ministry of Justice, unemployed prisoners can expect to receive a base rate of £2.50 a week (on a five-day structure).
Employed prisoners can expect a higher minimum wage – £4 a week.
With this income, a singular box of cereal would take up 87% of a prisoner’s weekly allowance – on an employed salary.
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Expensive items on the sheet ranged from Qurans for £8.85 to Cantu shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser priced at £7 each.
Whilst hair care matched the RRP price outside of prison; bedding, duvet sets, pillowcases, bed sheets and duvet covers well exceeded market value.
At £31.99 for a single duvet, this more than doubled the cost of a single 13.5 tog duvet at Dunelm.
The cheaper items on the sheet included a breakfast spreads, sweets and stationery.
The least expensive item prisoners could buy were postage stamps – priced at 1p and 10p respectively.
The FOI from the Ministry of Justice said DHL produce the canteen sheets for HMP Manchester – so all products which are offered are consistently subject to change.
The link to the full canteen sheet can be found here.
Featured Image: Rept0n1x via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ with thanks.
