§ Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will state for England and Wales, for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, what has been the average term of imprisonment served prior to parole by those prisoners under life sentences who have been paroled in each of the years in question.
§ Mr. JohnPersons sentenced to life imprisonment are not eligible for parole as such but are released on licence, under the terms of which they may be recalled to prison at any time should this be necessary. The average periods of detention of those released during each of the past 10 years were as follows:
Average period of detention Year Years Months 1968 … … 8 11 1969 … … 9 0 1970 … … 8 7 1971 … … 10 8 1972 … … 9 4 1973 … … 9 2 1974 … … 9 5 1975 … … 10 7 1976 … … 10 4 1977 … … 9 10 The figures include persons detained during Her Majesty's pleasure under Section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or for life under Section 53(2) of that Act but not persons who had been previously released on licence and subsequently recalled to prison. The average periods of detention provide no indication of the time for which any individual prisoner is likely to be detained since the figures do not show the range of such periods—which have varied from six months in one case to over 20 years in others.