Ms Caron McCaffrey:

We have taken steps in relation to enhancing governance. We have annual service agreements that will be in place for our mess committees for 2021, which clearly set out the arrangements that pertain to their operation. We are also putting in place annual statements of compliance with our mess committees. They will be required to provide audited accounts with information on food purchases and analysis of meals. They will also be required to provide a statement of assurance that no food item for prisoner use and paid for by the prison service has been used in a mess committee.

On the delivery of supplies, deliveries for mess committees are or should be made to a different area of the prison, with the exception of one prison, namely, the maximum security prison.