HC Deb 12 June 1979 vol 968 cc162-9W
Mr. Thomas Cox

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present population at each prison in the United Kingdom and the number which the prison was built to accommodate.

Mr. Brittan

Details of the accommodation and population of individual prison department establishments in England and Wales are published annually as Appendix No. 3 to the report of the work of the prison department. The report for 1978 is expected to be published shortly. On 15 May 1979 the certified normal accommodation of prison department establishments was 37,890 and the prison population was 42,364.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally-abnormal offenders are in prison department establishments; and what are the numbers at each prison and the category of the Mental Health Act 1959 into which they fall.

Mr. Brittan

On 31 December 1978, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 519 persons held in prison department establishments who were considered by prison medical officers to be suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which would warrant their detention in hospital for medical treatment under the Mental Health Act 1959. Of these, 389 were serving a sentence. A breakdown of the figures, by category and by establishment, is given in the following table:

Sentenced Unsentenced Total (uncluding non-criminal)
Establishments M SS S P Total M SS S P Total M SS S P Total
MALES
Remand Centres
Ashford 5 1 6 5 1 6
Norwich 1 1 1 1
Risley 1 1 3 1 4 3 1 1 5
1 1 8 1 2 11 8 1 3 12
Local Prisons
Bedford 4 4 5 5 9 9
Birmingham 4 4 11 11 15 15
Bristol 1 1 3 1 4 4 1 5
Brixton 13 13 13 13
Canterbury 3 2 1 6 3 2 1 6
Cardiff 3 3 5 2 7 5 5 10
Dorchester 1 1 1 1
Durham 5 1 6 3 1 4 8 2 10
Exeter 9 9 9 9
Gloucester 3 3 1 1 4 4
Leeds 3 3 1 1 3 1 4
Leicester 4 4 4 1 5 8 1 9
Lewes 4 1 5 4 1 5
Lincoln 1 1 1 1 2 2
Liverpool 3 1 1 5 3 1 1 5
Manchester 7 7 7 7
Norwich 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 5
Oxford 5 5 2 1 2 5 2 1 7 10
Pentonville 5 5 10 4* 3* 7* 9* 8* 17*
Swansea 2 1 1 4 3 3 5 1 1 7
Wandsworth 13 1 14 4 4 17 1 18
Winchester 5 1 6 5 1 6
Wormwood Scrubs 38 5 5 48 38 5 5 48
103 11 19 133 72* 1 9 10* 92* 175* 1 20 29* 225*
Sentenced Unsentenced Total (including non-criminal)
Establishments M SS S P Total M SS S P Total M SS S P Total
Adult Closed Training Prisons
Albany 2 20 22 2 20 22
Blundeston 2 1 3 2 1 3
Camp Hill 1 1 2 1 1 2
Coldingley 2 2 2 2
Dartmoor 5 4 1 10 5 4 1 10
Featherstone 1 1 1 1
Gartree 2 24 26 2 24 26
Hull 3 1 4 3 1 4
Kingston (Portsmouth) 9 9 9 9
Long Lartin 1 1 1 1
Maidstone 6 1 7 6 1 7
Parkhurst 23 40 63 23 40 63
Reading 2 1 3 2 1 3
Stafford 4 1 5 4 1 5
Wakefield 11 28 39 11 28 39
61 9 127 197 61 9 127 197
Young Persons Closed Training Prisons
Aylesbury 4 3 7 4 3 7
Exeter 1 1 1 1
Onley 1 1 1 1
Swinfen Hall 2 2 2 2
7 4 11 7 4 11
Closed Borstals
Feltham 7 1 1 12 21 7 1 1 12 21
Rochester 1 1 1 1
8 1 1 12 22 8 1 1 12 22
Sentenced Unsentenced Total (including non-criminal)
Establishments M SS S P Total M SS S P Total M SS S P Total
FEMALES
Remand Centres
Pucklechurch 2 2 4 2 1 7 6 2 1 9
Risley 2 2 2 2
4 4 4 2 1 7 8 2 1 11
Closed Prisons
Durham 2 3 2 7 2 3 2 7
Holloway 3 1 2 6 7* 5 8 20* 10* 6 10 26*
Styal 3 5 8 3 5 8
8 4 9 21 7* 5 8 20* 15* 9 17 41*
TOTAL (MALE) 179 1 22 162 364 80* 2 11 10* 103* 259* 3 33 172* 467*
TOTAL (FEMELE) 12 4 9 25 11* 7 9 27* 23* 11 18 52
TOTAL (MALE AND FEMALE) 191 1 26 171 389 91* 2 18 19* 130* 282* 3 44 190* 519*
* Includes five non-criminal cases—4 males and 1 female.
Category of Mental Disorder: M = Mental Illness; SS = Severe Subnormality; S = Subnormality; P = Psychopathic Disorder.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to remove mentally-abnormal offenders from prison.

Mr. Brittan

As the hon. Member is aware, prison medical officers have been urged to seek authority for the transfer to hospital of any prisoner in whose case such a course is considered to be justified. The Home Office is in constant touch with the Department of Health and Social Security about the difficulties which arise in obtaining suitable hospital vacancies.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally-abnormal prisoners are currently awaiting transfer to National Health Service hospitals; and what are the names of the hospitals, and the length of time each prisoner has been waiting.

Regional Health Authority Under 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 12–18 months
North-Western 1 1
Oxford 1
North-East Thames 2 2
North-West Thames 2 1
South-East Thames 3 1 1
Trent 1
Wessex 1 1
West Midlands 1
Yorkshire 1
Welsh Health Authorities 2
13 6 2 1

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