§ 38. Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current prison population compared with each of the last five years; and whether there has been any significant increase in alternative forms of punishment since his statement on this topic.
§ Mr. JohnAlthough I am not sure which statement my hon. Friend has in mind, the Criminal Law Act 1977 increased many maximum fines, thus reducing the need for the courts to have recourse to custodial sentences, and there has been a progressive increase in the number of areas in which community service schemes are available to the courts.