Prisoner costs.

Very good question, I guess if they have dependents it’s not viable.
I seem to remember a story of a prisoner who was wrongly convicted and had the cost of his prison upkeep removed from his compensation.

Yes, that really is a disgrace, isn’t it? Talk about adding insult to injury!

Otherwise, I suppose that forceable charges for imprisonment could lead to corruption. I saw a documentary once about how in some Southern states of the US, black people were jailed on spurious charges as prisoners brought in money from their work on chain gangs and in prison factories. The list of companies who took the goods they made was eye opening.

Taking all of someone’s assets would also make rehabilitation difficult. The comparison with older people in care does make me think, though.

That seems a harsh situation but maybe the compensation was a very large sum which it should be if false evidence was the implication not just that a further evidence turned up.

There is a current thread where the cost of hospital meals is being discussed. I think it is still the case that a state pension is forfeited if you are in hospital longer term. Is that correct?

I expect the cost of means testing would outweigh ths cost of prison food and you couldnt have a situation where a prisoner couldn't afford the cost. All other expenses would continue anyway if the prisoner owned or rented a property especially if there were dependents.

If we want criminals off the streets, which is the usual cry, then it is one of the many costs our taxes pay for.

I have Googled my question about the payment of a state pension to a prisoner. Hopefully AI is correct. Yes the S pension is suspended from remand through imprisonment. It can then be reinstated on release, but no back payment made. If in remand and then released, as no conviction, then the S pension lost is refunded in full.
NI credits are not paid either and some prisoners make voluntary contributions. That all seems fair.

The cost of food is probably pretty small per prisoner especially if it is grown and produced as part of the prisoner rehabilitation programme.