§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were received into custody in 1978 and 1979 following immediate custodial sentences for (a) begging, (b) sleeping out and (c) suspected person offences.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe numbers of receptions into prison department establishments in England and Wales in 1978 under sentence of imprisonment for begging or sleeping out is given in tables 3.2, 4.1 and 5.1 of "Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 1978 " (Cmnd. 7626). The information collected centrally on the offences of those received into prison does not distinguish between these two offences or record separately suspected person offences. The only readily available information on these separate offences relates to the number of persons sentenced by the courts for such a principal offence to immediate imprisonment, borstal training or a detention centre order, which is published annually in " Criminal Statistics, England and Wales " (offence classifications 182, 183 and 186 of tables 1(a) and 5(a) of the volume for 1978, Cmnd. 7670). Information for 1979 is not yet available.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were received into custody in England and Wales in 1978 following (a) the imposition of immediate custodial sentences and (b) in default of payment of a fine following conviction for unlawful possession of cannabis (not including possession with intent to supply).
§ Mr. WhitelawThe information collected centrally on the offences of those216W received into prison does not distinguish separately offences of unlawful possession of cannabis. The only information readily available relates to persons sentenced by the courts to immediate imprisonment, a detention centre order or borstal training whose principal drugs offence was unlawful possession of controlled drugs, one of which was cannabis—cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabis liquid or cannabis plants. In England and Wales in 1978, 349 such persons were so sentenced.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were received into prison (a) following sentences of immediate imprisonment and (b) for fine default following convictions for indecent exposure in 1978 and 1979.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe information collected centrally on the offences of those received into prison does not distinguish separately offences of indecent exposure. The only information readily available relates to persons sentenced by the courts to immediate imprisonment for a principal offence of indecent exposure, which is published annually in " Criminal Statistics, England and Wales "—offence classification 139 in table 1(a) of the volume for 1978, Cmnd. 7670. Information for 1979 is not yet available.