§ 36. Mr. WILLIAM HUTCHISONasked the Home Secretary if he will state the minimum sum for which any Income Tax defaulter has been sent to gaol during the present year; and the maximum period of detention hitherto in any individual case?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThe minimum sum in default of which any prisoner has been committed for non-payment of Income Tax during the year 1931 is £1 5s. The maximum period of detention for which any such prisoner has been received is 42 days.
§ 39. Mr. HUTCHISONasked the Home Secretary if he will state the number of male and female debtors, respectively, who are now in prison as the result of inability to pay fines or make payments under orders of the court; and if he will give the type of offence for which these prisoners are being mostly detained?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThe persons indicated in the question are not all debtors, or unable to pay, or committed in respect of offences, nor could particulars of all those who are at the moment in prison he furnished without collecting material from every prison in the country. Certain information is available however, and as it is in the form of a tabular statement I will have it circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the statement:
§ The question appears to have in mind prisoners of the classes set out below. During the 12 months ended 30th September, 1931, their daily average numbers were as follows:
| Males. | Females. | |
| (1) Committed from County Courts in default of compliance with orders to pay | 97 | — |
| (2) Committed from Court of Summary Jurisdiction: | ||
| (a) In default of payment of rates | 99 | 4 |
| (b) In default of payment under Affiliation Orders | 249 | — |
| (c) In default of payment under Orders to contribute to wife's maintenance | 427 | — |
| (3) Other cases of persons not charged with offences | 24 | — |
| (4) Committed in default of payment of fines | 425 | 133 |
| Total | 1,321 | 137 |