free provision of a television set for all persons recognised to lack financial resources must be clarified. In addition, certain penal institutions place the entire burden of the rent on only the creditworthy occupants. This practice must be ended, pursuant to the spirit of the circular dated 17 May 2013 and the notice from the prisons administration department dated 3 February 2011. Certain detainees were recognised to lack sufficient financial resources by the CPU, but were also excluded from the cash aid of 20 euros as they refused to work (exclusion provided by the circular dated 17 May 2013); they were also excluded from the aid in kind provided under this same text. The Contrôleur général stated that the aid in kind must be given unconditionally to all people recognised by the CPU as lacking sufficient financial resources. The circular dated 17 May 2013 makes provisions for taking up the burden of certain expenses related to educational and training projects: registration in distance learning courses, purchase of school supplies, etc. And yet, in certain institutions, receiving study grants makes people lacking sufficient financial resources ineligible for the cash aid of 20 euros that they would have received otherwise, since the sum of these two benefits is more than the 50-euro limit provided for in Article D. 347-1 of the criminal procedure code. The Contrôleur général recommended that the amount of the study grants should not be taken into account when examining their financial situation. Certain persons lacking financial resources may legitimately wish to purchase one or more objects of certain values, especially as part of their studies. And yet, they cannot save the cash aid of 20 euros that is granted to them every month. The Contrôleur général therefore questioned the possibility of allowing people lacking sufficient financial resources to have a certain nest egg, through which they can accumulate their savings, month after month, from the cash aid of 20 euros or their study grant, in order to make atypical purchases, on the authorisation of the head of the institution. The circular dated 17 May 2013 mentions “the payment [...] of a fixed sum of not more than 20 euros per person and per month” for individuals considered to lack sufficient financial resources by the CPU, whereas the notice dated 3 February 2011 mentions several times, on the contrary, the indivisible nature of the cash aid of 20 euros. It has been noted that in most of the penal institutions visited by the Contrôleur général, the cash aid granted to people lacking financial resources amounted to 20 euros, but in certain institutions, this aid was less (e.g. 18 euros). Certain institutions evaluate the financial situation of people not with respect to the state of their personal account, but according to the resources that they supposedly have outside the prison. A reminder of the terms of Article D. 347-1 of the criminal procedure code must be given to ensure that the only thing taken into account when evaluating the financial situation of a person, are the resources that he/she has in his/her personal account. In addition to the amount, the time frame of the actions against poverty is also vital. In fact, the main difficulty encountered by people is that in practice, the CPU related to the efforts against poverty generally occurs in the first half of each month, and therefore takes into account the status of the personal account at the end of the previous month and the month before that, and not the ongoing month (too early) and the month before. The Contrôleur général recommends that the durations examined while granting the cash aid of 20 euros should meticulously comply with the provisions of Article D. 347-1 of the criminal procedure code, with the CPU being conducted at the end of the ongoing month, i.e. at the end of the month for which the cash aid is paid. Especially due to the aforementioned practices, it appears particularly important for the detainees to be informed of their rights pertaining to aid in 64