§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are living two or three together in cells designed for one.
§ Mr. JohnOn 13th February, the latest date for which this information is available, there were 15,913 persons sharing cells in Prison Department establishments in England and Wales. Of these, 10,918 were sleeping two in a cell and 4,995 were sleeping three in a cell.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average working week for prisoners in Great Britain.
§ Mr. JohnInformation in the form which my hon. Friend requests is not available, but the estimated average of workshop hours in penal establishments in England and Wales is at present about 22 hours a week.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of people serving life sentences in Great Britain expressed as a proportion of the population as a whole and give comparable figures for other member States of the European Community.
§ Mr. JohnIn December 1976 there were 1,569 persons serving life sentences in penal establishments in Great Britain. This represents 29 persons per million of the home population of all ages in England and Wales and Scotland. I regret that comparable information relating to other member States of the European Economic Community is not available.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were divorced or separated from their husbands or wives during their imprisonment (a) in 1965 (b) in 1970 and (c) in 1976.
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§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the prison population are first-time offenders.
§ Mr. JohnOf the sentenced prison population on 30th June 1976 for whom relevant information is available about 7 per cent. are known to have had no previous conviction.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time per week which prisoners spend locked in their cells.
§ Mr. JohnThe information is not available in the form requested. Furthermore, conditions vary greatly between different kinds of prisons with widely differing régimes. All prisoners are entitled to a minimum of one hour's exercise a day, provided they are fit for it, and every effort is made, within available resources, to provide associated activities in addition.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many GCE O-levels and GCE A-levels were obtained by prisoners in 1965, 1970 and 1976.
§ Mr. JohnThe number of GCE O and A level passes obtained in 1965 is unknown. The numbers for 1970 and 1976 are as follows:
Year O level A level 1970 414 71 1976 837 90
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of prison sentence for people convicted of first-time offences.
§ Mr. JohnThe available information indicates that in 1975 the average length of prison sentence, excluding suspended sentences, imposed on people with no recorded previous conviction was one year eight months. This average does not include indeterminate sentences.