HC Deb 08 February 1991 vol 185 cc276-7W
Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the female prison population were being held in prison for a first offence in the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs. Rumbold

The available information is published in tables 3.4 and 5.1 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1989" (Cm 1221), a copy of which is available in the Library. On 30 June 1989 about 16 per cent. of the female population serving an immediate custodial sentence was known to have had no previous conviction.

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of girls aged under 18 years in adult prisons were housed in mother and baby units in the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs. Rumbold

On the most recent date for which such information is available, 31 October 1990, none of the approximately 25 females aged under 18 held in local and training prisons in England and Wales was housed in a mother and baby unit.

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the national female prison population had dependent children aged(a) under five, (b) between five and 10 and (c) between 10 and 18 years in the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs. Rumbold

Information on the children of women in custody is not regularly collected. However, a survey of 1,239 sentenced women in prison was conducted in December 1989. Of the 1,015 who responded to questions about dependent children, 600 said they had children or dependants under 18 years of age. More detailed information was given about the ages of 1,212 of the 1,321 children concerned. The figures are as follows:

Age Number of children
0–4 years 380
5–10 years 496
11–18 years 416

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of female non-United Kingdom nationals currently serving sentences in United Kingdom prisons have dependent children.

Mrs. Rumbold

This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many girls aged under 18 years were held in adult prisons for the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs. Rumbold

According to the records held centrally, which are approximate, about 25 females aged under 18 were held in local and training prisons in England and Wales on 31 October 1990.

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of girls aged under 18 years in adult prisons were pregnant at the time of sentencing in the last year for which figures are available.

Mrs. Rumbold

This information is not collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Miss Lestor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of sentence for women in prison in each year from 1980 to 1990.

Mrs. Rumbold

Information on the average sentence length for females received under an immediate custodial sentence is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (tables 3.14 and 5.12 of the latest issue, for 1989, Cm. 1221). Data for 1990 are not yet available.