HC Deb 13 April 1999 vol 329 c23W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have taken place in the past 10 years in the proportion of prisoners suffering from(a) hepatitis, (b) HIV/AIDS and (c) TB. [80250]

Mr. George Howarth

Complete information is not available in the form requested. The information given in the table has been collated from a number of databases held centrally, based on returns from prison establishments. The table shows new cases of hepatitis B and tuberculosis in England and Wales for 1988–89 and 1997–98.

New cases of hepatitis B and tuberculosis in prisons (England and Wales) 1988–89 and 1997–98
1998–89 1997–98
Hepatitis B (acute/chronic) 347 246
Average daily population of prison 49,784 62,584
Proportion of population 0.70% 0.39%
Tuberculosis 22 50
Average daily population of prison 49,784 62,584
Proportion of population 0.0442% 0.0799%

Note:

Arrangements for the collection of data on HIV/AIDS varied during the period. No statistics are provided since valid comparisons would be very difficult to make.