§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of prisoners are currently serving sentences for(a) cannabis offences, (b) other illegal drug offences and (c) murder; and what is the average annual cost for each category of prisoner. [38383]
§ Mr. George HowarthThere were 51,580 sentenced prisoners in England and Wales at the end of February 1998, including 3,190 (6 per cent.) individuals serving life sentences for murder and 7,970 (15 per cent.) serving sentences for drugs offences. Information on the numbers of prisoners serving sentences for drugs offences258W involving cannabis were published in "Statistics of drug seizures and offenders dealt with, United Kingdom, 1995 Supplementary tables", a copy of which is available in the Library. These statistics show that on 30 June 1995 (the latest available estimate) 33 per cent. of persons under sentence for drugs offences in England and Wales were held for cannabis offences.
The Prison Service does not hold information centrally on the costs of prisoners based on type of offence. The average cost of a prison place for all prisoners in the financial year 1996–97 was £24,271.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of new prisons which will need to be built in the next 20 years and of their total construction costs. [38364]
§ Ms QuinMy right hon. Friend announced on 19 June 1997 that the Government would proceed with the prison building programme to deliver 2,400 new places at four contractually managed, privately financed prisons by 1999–2000.
The Government are taking a fresh look at Prison Service spending after 1998–99, including the long-term need for new prisons, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.