I just did a comparison of UK prisons and American prisons Commissary and bloody hell in the states your inmates get fucked over for some really basic things the food stuff's in the UK prisons are onpar with the prices in the shops and for some things like toothpaste, soaps and under garments it's a bit cheaper (not a lot but a bit) and the cost of that can be written off if your indigent or insolvent and there is things available that are not on the American lists you can get a crank powered radio or a battery radio the battery one is cheaper but needs batteries but can pick up more channels as it's DAB and the crank one is more expensive but doesnt have the ongoing battery cost but isn't DAB (it's also marked as a inspection items I'm guessing to stop prisoners rigging it to recharge phone batteries).
A pack of 8 hotdogs from Prince (a mid level not great not bad brand) that's shelf stable is £1 a tin of them in the shop is 99p, a 5 pack of noodles is £1.20 for Ko-Lee (a fairly common brand) and it's a mix pack or you can request a specific flavour if they have it, they seem to be getting screwed on some of the sauces though like Mustard, Mayonnaise, Chilli sauce etc as it's sachet only and they are smaller than the ones you'd get at a take away or harvester for free and look to be a no name brand, and they are getting really fucked for Vape stuff (all UK prisons are smoke free) and are marked as unless DOA they can't be exchanged, what is cheaper though is smoking sensation products like Nicotine patches, gums, sprays and alike at a few quid a box or pack and I am guessing a fair bit of that is made up on the e-cig stuff but also partly funded by the NHS or alike you can get it free from the NHS in a lot of local trusts I think they charge for it in prison because they don't want it turning into a currency like fags used to be and I am guessing Vape stuff is.
What did make me go humm, about the UK stuff is you can buy larger portions or different meals apparently the details apparently vary prison to prison and what your in there for to begin with so say it's Curry night in the prison and you don't like curry you can pay a bit more to have something else like Chilli, you get your Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner covered for free and it's prepaird on site and hot, cold, and special religious or medical diet are catered for as well.
As for books, I know any religious text is available for free in the UK as is a area set aside for religious functions (prisons normally have 2 i'm told incase one is in use) and there is a legal library available, and also a decent selection of real books depending on the prison but apparently you can request books they haven't got under the inter library loan system and unless it's already marked down as a NO they can request it and it's reviewed (apparently for the requester's specific conditions in some category's) and as long as it meets some requirements i.e. you can't request books on weapons or hand to hand combat, porn etc just obvious stuff you'll likely get it.
There is also access to job and life skills courses that you can gain extra books for, for free and they are real courses as well, and apparently tailored for inmates as well so they don't offer courses to inmates that wouldn't pass a CRB check or alike for specific industry's, I know a bit one at my local prison is Fork Lift Truck and Tele handler certifications, and you can earn extra money or privileges the better you perform at them like 30min of free phone credits etc (the local cost of that looks to vary but a average is 50p per min).
Sorry for the sperg I just thought it was intresting to compare the two.
