§ Mr. DunnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average period of time served in prison by persons convicted of murder between(a) 1974 and 1977, (b) 1979 and 1982, (c) 1983 and 1986 and (d) 1987 to date.
§ Mrs. Angela RumboldInformation on the average time served under sentence in prison service establishments by murderers first released on licence in each of the years 1979 to 1989 was published in chapter 8 and table 8.5 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1989" (Cm 1221), a copy of which is in the Library. The corresponding averages for 1976, 1977 and 1978 were 9, 9.7 and 9.1 years respectively. Reliable information for 1974 and 1975 is not available.