§ Mr. Macdonaldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at the latest convenient date, what was the proportion of those in prison who were serving second or subsequent sentences; what were the numbers; and what were the comparable figures five years before.
§ Mrs. Shirley Williams:I regret that information in the form requested is not available.
Of the 36,069 persons received into prisons in England and Wales under sentence of imprisonment during 1968, 21,685 (60.1 per cent.) were known to have served previous sentences of imprisonment. The corresponding figures for 1963 were 46,036 and 27,005 (58.7 per cent.) respectively. The fall in the number of receptions into prison in 1968 is due to a decline in offenders received into prison on short sentences, the result of the Criminal Justice Act of 1967.