§ Mrs Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown of the category of offences for which present women prisoners are serving sentences in percentage terms.
§ Mr. Mellor:The latest readily available information is given in the following table. More detailed information relating to 30 June is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales"—table 1.5 of the latest issue for 1983 (Cmnd. 9363).
Population* of females under sentence† on 31 March 1985 by offence group *Percentages Offence group Young offenders Adult prisoners Total Violence against the person 16 15 15 Sexual offences 1 1 1 Burglary 13 6 7 Robbery 12 3 5
Year Total Lengths of sentences 1970 2 Life, 4 years. 1971 8 7½ years, 5 years × 2, 4 years, 3 years × 2, 12 months, 9 months. 1972 10 Life × 2, 8 years, 4 years × 2, 18 months × 3, 15 months, 9 months. 1973 8 14 years, 6 years, 5 years, 4½ years, 3 years, 2 years × 2, 9 months 1974 2 6 years × 2. 1975 6 Life, 5 years, 4 years × 2, 6 months, 21 days*. 1976 9 Life, 10 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, 2 years 9 months, 18 months, 12 months, 9 months. 1977 7 Life, 12 years, 7 years, 4 years, 2 years, 18 months, 1 month. 1978 7 Life × 4, 5 years*, 18 months, 12 months. 1979 12 Life × 3, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years × 2, 18 months, 12 months, 9 months, 6 months × 2. 1980 9 Life × 3, 12 years × 2, 5 years, 4 years, 21 months, 19 months. 1981 7 Life × 2, 8 years × 2, 3 years × 2, 12 months. 1982 8 Life × 5, 15 years, 3 years, 18 months. 1983 11 Life, 4 years × 2, 3¼ years, 3 years × 2, 2 years × 2, 9 months, 6 months, 3 months. 1984 10 Life × 3, 25 years, 7 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3½ years, 2 years, 18 months. * Females.