§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were(a) employed in prison workshops and (b) in other employment, expressed as a percentage of the prison population, in each year from 1995 to present; and if he will make a statement. [153608]
§ Mr. BoatengThe table sets out the number of prisoners employed in prison workshops, expressed as a percentage of the average prison population for the year from 1995 to the most recently available data.
Statistics on the numbers of prisoners in other employment for the period requested are not readily available in the Prison Service. However, information produced in May 2000 on the number of prisoners employed outside workshops in adult male training prisons, showed a total of 8,205 prisoners were employed on work activities such as kitchens, gardens, agricultural business, prison maintenance and cleaning.
Year Number of Prisoners Employed in Workshops As a percentage of Average Annual Prison Population 1995–96 8,844 17.14 1996–97 7,601 13.41 1997–98 7,615 12.16 1998–99 9,699 14.94 1999– 2000 9,527 14.70