§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the proportion of the current total prison population who are serving life sentences.
§ Mr. MellorAccording to the records held centrally, which are approximate, 4.6 per cent. of the persons in prison department establishments in England and Wales488W on 31 May 1986 were serving life sentences, including custody for life and detention during Her Majesty's pleasure or for life under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have been released, on licence, from a life sentence have subsequently been reimprisoned for murder or attempted murder in the last 10 years.
§ Mr. MellorEight life sentence prisoners released on licence in the last 10 years, five of whom had been convicted of murder, have subsequently been reimprisoned for offences of murder.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment have been released on licence in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. MellorInformation on the numbers of prisoners first released on life licence in the years 1973 to 1983 is published in "Reconviction and Recalls of Life Licensees", Home Office statistical bulletin issue No. 3/85. Sixty-eight persons were first released in 1984 and 66 in 1985 (excluding those who were deported on release).