§ Sir R. GOWERasked the Home Secretary how many convicts are confined today in how many prisons; what is the average annual cost of maintaining a convict, both male and female; and how do the figures compare with those of 1927?
§ Sir J. GILMOUROn 5th June there were 1,605 men and 59 women undergoing terms of penal servitude in 29 prisons. Of the 1,605 men, 1,349 are in the four prisons set apart for convicts. The average cost per head in convict prisons for men, including administrative charges and charges in respect of the pay and pensions of the staff, was £136 4s. 2d. in 1932. Calculated on a similar basis it was £145 18s. 2d. in 1927. I cannot give similar figures relating to women convicts, since the cost cannot be isolated from that of other women in the same establishments.