§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of men and women at present serving prison sentences from three to five, five to eight years, eight to 12 years, 12 to 15 years, 15 to 20 years and the number serving life imprisonment with no recommendation as to the period that should be served.
§ Mr. Brittan,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 28 June 1979], gave the following answer:
The latest information readily available is given in the following table.
PERSONS IN PRISON DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES ON 30 JUNE 1978 SERVING SENTENCES OF IMPRISONMENT OF OVER THREE YEARS Sentence length Males Females Over three years and up to and including five years 3,906 54 Over five years and up to and including eight years 1,653* 16* Over eight years and up to and including 12 years 596* 4* Over 12 years and up to and including 15 years 142* 3* Over 15 years—excluding life and those detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure 80* 0* Life and those detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure 1,356 47 * Estimated breakdown of the number serving determinate sentences of over five years. Precise figures not available.
Mr. ChristopherPrice asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female prisoners remain in prison (a) 15 years, (b) 20 years and (c) 25 years after committing a single offence.
§ Mr. Brittan,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21 June 1979], gave the following answer:
On 31 December 1978 there were 43 males and one female in prison department establishments serving sentences imposed more than 15 years previously; their time from sentence is shown in the 114W following table. Nineteen of them, including the woman, had spent some time at liberty on life licence after conviction. Three of the men and the woman had no known previous convictions at the time of sentence but two of these men committed a subsequent offence while on life licence.
PERSONS IN PRISON DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES ON 31 DECEMBER 1978 SERVING SENTENCES IMPOSED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 1964 Number of persons Time from sentence Males Females Over 15 and up to and including 20 years 29 0 Over 20 and up to and including 25 years 10 0 Over 25 years 4 1 43 1