§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for the latest date available, what was the ethnic composition of(a) male and (b) female prisoners held under sentence or remand in prisons in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe readily available information is given in the following table. The information is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales", table 1.11 of the 1986 issue, Cm. 210, copies of which are in the Library.
the number of prisoners held under sentence who were suffering from a recognised mental illness or personality disorder in gaols in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggOn 31 March 1988, the most recent date for which figures are available, 235 inmates of Prison 17W Department establishments in England and Wales were, in the opinion of medical officers, suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which would satisfy the criteria in the Mental Health Act 1983 for detention in hospital for medical treatment. This compared with 345 inmates so reported on 30 September 1987.
A total of 156 of the 345 recorded by prison medical officers on 30 September 1987, and 119 of the 235 recorded on 31 March 1988, were under sentence.