HL Deb 01 February 1977 vol 379 c840WA
Lord ALLEN of ABBEYDALE

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will give, for the latest convenient date, the number of prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment in England and Wales who have already been detained for longer than nine years; and, of these, the number who have been detained for longer than fourteen years.

Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH

On 31st December, 1976, the figures were 200 and 29 respectively. These figures include persons detained during Her Majesty's pleasure under Section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or detained for life under Section 53(2) of that Act, but not persons who had been previously released on licence and subsequently recalled to prison.