§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many schoolboys were in (a) local prisons and (b) remand centres on unruly certificates on the latest available date.
§ Dr. SummerskillA boy aged 14 to 16 who is awaiting trial, or aged 14 when convicted but unsentenced, may be remanded in custody in a prison or remand centre in England and Wales only if a court certifies that he is so unruly that he cannot safely be committed to the care of a local authority. On 31 January 1979, 103 such boys were in remand centres and I was in a local prison. In addition, a boy who is aged 15 or 16 who is convicted but unsentenced may be remanded in custody in a prison or remand centre only with a certificate of unruliness unless committed under section 28 of the Magis-
TABLE 1: INDICTABLE OFFENCES RECORDED BY THE POLICE IN WHICH AIR WEAPONS WERE REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN USED, BY AGE OF PRINCIPAL SUSPECT England and Wales Number of offences Age of principal suspect Year … … Total Under 14 14 and under 17 17 and under 21 21 and over Age not known 1973 … … 1,642 .. .. .. .. .. 1974 … … 1,859 185 475 237 131 831 1975 … … 2,489 247 628 296 184 1,134 1976 … … 3,171 297 700 320 181 1,673 1977 … … 3,671 288 742 317 203 2,121 .. Ages of suspects are not available for 1973. The information relating to part (c) of the question is published annually for the years 1975 to 1977 in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—Table 3.6 of the
TABLE 2: INDICTABLE OFFENCES RECORDED BY THE POLICE IN WHICH AIR WEAPONS WERE REPORTED TO HAVE CAUSED INJURY, BY DEGREE OF INJURY England and Wales Number of offences Year Total Fatal injury Serious injury Slight injury 1973 … … 1,294 — 142 1,152 1974 … … 1,355 1 129 1,225