§ 11.8 a.m.
§ LORD ROYLEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they can now give the figures for 1965 of persons sentenced to imprisonment for:—
- (a) Drunkenness,
- (b) First Offences,
- (c)Non-payment of fines.]
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, during 1965, 802 persons were received into prison in England and Wales under sentence of imprisonment for drunkenness without the option of a fine. A total of 12,030 were received in default of payment of fines: these included 4,144whose fine had been for drunkenness. The statistics of persons received under sentence of imprisonment for first offences in 1965 are not yet available. The 1964 figure was 6,753. I will send the 1965 figure to my noble friend as soon as possible.
§ LORD ROYLEMy Lords, I am much obliged to my noble friend. Is he aware that the figures he has just given are not a great improvement on the figures which he gave in winding up a debate on the White Paper on the Adult Offender? While I should be one of the last persons to suggest that magisterial discretion should be interfered with, I wonder whether the Home Office would consider sending some form of advice to 1761 magistrates to show them what a large percentage of these offenders occupy prison cells. Has the time not come now when we should reduce these figures quite considerably, and so relieve the pressure so far as the prison population is concerned?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, I agree with my noble friend that these figures are not an improvement on those for the previous year. In fact, so far as fining offenders is concerned, they are worse, because the number has increased by some 2,000. I entirely agree with him that for most of these people prison is worse than useless. But with regard to giving advice to magistrates, my noble friend's speech in the debate which he introduced recently was in fact virtually a blueprint for action in these matters; and when the Criminal Justice Bill is introduced in the autumn he will find that in this respect we are doing much more than just giving advice to magistrates.