§ Mr. Robert Cookeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young persons awaiting allocation to Borstal are at present housed in Her Majesty's prisons; how this compares with the figure for recent years; and what are his plans for improving the allocation system.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsAt the end of January there were some 1.150 young men in prisons in England and Wales (of which 730 were in borstal allocation centres) awaiting transfer to training borstals. The corresponding figures for previous years were: 1969, 830 (560);360W 1968, 870 (699); and 1967, 859 (646). The waiting period in prison is due not to the borstal allocation system, for which two new centres are being planned, but to insufficient places in training borstals to contain the substantial increase in the numbers received into custody under a borstal sentence. More training places are being planned.