§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many remanded prisoners in England and Wales who did not subsequently receive custodial sentences lost their homes following their remand to prison in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [4310]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 8 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question on the numbers of remand prisoners who did not subsequently receive custodial sentences in each year since 1992 but lost their homes following their admission to prison.The information requested is not recorded. Remand prisoners are not obliged to tell the prison authorities of difficulties in retaining accommodation and, once released, former remand prisoners are not required to maintain contact with the Prison Service or the Probation Service after release from custody.The Prison Service's statement of principle on unconvicted prisoners, which is set out in the Prisoners' Information Book, is based on the presumption of their innocence. One of its provisions is that unconvicted prisoners will be allowed all reasonable facilities to preserve their accommodation and employment. Most prisons have staff trained in the provision of advice on housing and employment issues, and all will have a pool of such staff by next April.
§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current remand population broken by(a) ethnic background and (b) gender in England and Wales. [3659]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 8 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for the ethnic breakdown of the current remand population.The information is shown in the attached table.
Remand population on 31 October 19951 by ethnic origin and sex, England and Wales Ethnic origin Total Males Females White 9,292 8,910 382 Black 1,537 1,450 87 South Asian 313 308 5 Chinese and Other Asian 139 134 5 Other/unrecorded 220 200 20 Total 11,501 11,002 499 1Provisional figures.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of acquitted remand prisoners, who were in employment before their448W period of custody, return to employment on their release. [3513]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Jim Cunningham dated 8 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question on the percentage of acquitted remand prisoners who were in employment before their period of custody and who return to employment on their release.The information requested is not recorded. Acquitted remand prisoners are under no duty to maintain contact with the Prison Service once they are released, nor are they under the supervision of the Probation Service.The Prison Service's statement of principle on unconvicted prisoners (which is set out in the Prisoners' Information Book) is based on the presumption of their innocence. One of its provisions is that they will be given all reasonable facilities to preserve their accommodation and employment. Most prisons have staff trained in the provision of advice on housing and employment issues, and all will have a pool of such staff by next April.