§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the prison population in England and Wales last fell below the certified normal accommodation.
§ Mr. MayhewIn January 1981, during the industrial action by prison officers; although even then the total custodial population, including persons exceptionally detained in approved places and police cells, did not fall below certified normal accommodation. Before that, the most recent occasion when the prison population was below certified normal accommodation was in April 1974.