§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the prison population of the United Kingdom in 1991, 1992 and 1993; and what is the current figure.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Ellyn Llwyd, dated 2 February 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent question asking about the size of the prison population of the United Kingdom in 1991, 1992 and 1993; and about the current figure.The available information is given in the attached table. The latest available figure for the prison population for the United Kingdom is 56,836. This uses figures for 27 January for England, Wales and Scotland and for the end of November from Northern Ireland.
Average population in custody1 United Kingdom Year Average population 1991 52,532 1992 52,884 1993 52,136 1 Includes prisoners held in police cells.