§ Mr. Simsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many girls under the age of 15 years were accommodated in prison establishments following the issue of a certificate of unruliness in each of the years 1971 to 1976 inclusive.
§ Mr. JohnA girl aged 14–16 who is awaiting trial may be remanded in custody to a prison or remand centre in England and Wales only if a court certifies that she is so unruly that she cannot safely be committed to the care of a local authority. The following table shows the number of 14 year old girls who, in the years 1972–76, were initially remanded to a prison or remand centre to await trial:
In addition, girls aged 14–16 who have been convicted and are awaiting sentence may be received into custody in a prison or remand centre if they have been committed to the Crown Court with a view to a sentence of borstal training or if they are made the subject of an unruly certificate. I regret that the available information does not distinguish between the numbers in these two groups of persons awaiting sentence.
Year Number of receptions Number of individuals 1971 … … 16 Not known 1972 … … 9 8 1973 … … 16 15 1974 … … 30 27 1975 … … 14 13 1976 … … 28* 28* * Provisional.