§ 19. Mr. Haleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons, during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available, were committed to prison in default of payment of fine, for failure to comply with an order for payment of maintenance of wife or child or of civil debt, or for contempt of court, or for failure to provide bail in cases in which no subsequent conviction resulted; and what is the percentage of daily average population in local prisons covered under this collective head.
§ Mr. RentonIn 1957 the number of persons committed to prison in default of payment of fines was 5,539; the number of debtors committed (including those who failed to comply with maintenance orders) was 7,067; and the number of persons committed for contempt of court was 186. These categories of persons represented 7.3 per cent. of the daily average population of local prisons. I regret that no figure is available for the number of bail cases to which the hon. Member refers.
§ Mr. HaleI am obliged to the hon. and learned Gentleman for that helpful information. Would he not agree that the figures show that an increasingly large number of people are being unnecessarily sent to prison and that one of the first steps in penal reform is to stop sending to prison people who 633 should not be sent there at all, including many who are sent merely because of objection to bail? Will he look at the Hale Convention passed by the Council of Europe last March or April, which recommends the complete abolition of imprisonment for debt, and would he not agree that we should not encourage grocers to give unnecessary credit?
§ Mr. RentonI am aware of the Convention. It may comfort the hon. Gentleman to know that the Maintenance Orders Act which came into force in February this year has had an immediate and striking effect, because the prison population of persons committed in respect of maintenance orders has dropped from about 900 at the beginning of this year to 345 on 2nd June.