§ 47. Mr. Ioan Evansasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further action is proposed to deal with the problem of overcrowding in prisons.
§ Mr. MayhewThe partly suspended sentence will be available to the courts when section 47 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 is brought into force on 29 March. The Government believe that this power, which the Criminal Justice Bill seeks to make more flexible, will be used to reinforce the welcome movement that we have already seen towards shorter sentences of imprisonment. The major programmes of prison building and modernisation are continuing.