§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for each year in the period 1970 to 1975, how many people we were sentenced to prison for non-payment of fines subsequently paid them.
§ Mr. JohnThe available figures do not show precisely what is asked for, because most people against whom warrants of commitment are issued pay the fine to avoid being taken to prison and others pay part of the fine—or have cash in their possession applied towards payment—immediately on arrival, thus automatically reducing the term of imprisonment in default. A table showing the proportion of persons who are admitted to prison and subsequently released in consequence of later payments was published in the Prison Department Statistics for 1975, and the figures so published are as follows. Figures for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
PROPORTION OF SENTENCE SERVED BY FINE DEFAULTERS DISCHARGED IN 1975 Proportion of sentence served Fine defaulters (percentage) Up to 10 per cent. 20 Over 10 per cent. less than 50 per cent. 16 Over 50 per cent. less than 80 per cent. 10 Over 80 per cent. 54