§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet available the 1972 figures for receptions of non-criminal prisoners divided as in Table C.9 of the 1971 Prison Department Statistical Tables.
§ Mr. CarlisleThe full analysis is not yet available, but the provisional figures for the total number of such receptions in England and Wales are 5,595 male and 83 female.
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has in respect of recent years of the periods of imprisonment served by non-criminal prisoners committed by the county courts and by magistrates' courts and on the periods for which such prisoners were originally committed.
§ Mr. CarlisleI am having an analysis made of the available information and shall write to the right hon. Member.
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has undertaken or commissioned into the means and circumstances of noncriminal prisoners committed to prison by county courts and magistrates' courts.
§ Mr. CarlisleNone. But a magistrate's court exercising its civil jurisdiction may not impose imprisonment for non-payment of a sum adjudged to be paid unless it is proved to the court's satisfaction that the default was due to the defendant's wilful refusal or culpable neglect to pay. Magistrate's courts therefore have a duty in such cases to inquire into the defendant's means and circumstances. I understand that similar principles apply in the county courts.