§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many women prisoners are currently being held in Brixton prison; how long each one has been there; with what is each one charged; and what is the weekly cost;
(2) how many women, to date, have been held in Brixton prison;
(3) how many women prisoners are currently being held at Durham prison; how long each one has been there; what the convictions or alleged offences of each case are; and what is the weekly cost of the women's unit.
§ Mr. BrittanSince March 1973, when women were first accommodated in Brixton prison, 12 have been held there while on remand. On 26 February 1980 three women were held at Brixton: each has been there since 19 December 1979, charged with withholding information regarding terrorist activities in the United Kingdom. On the same date 37 women were serving sentences in the women's wing at Durham prison; I regret that the other information requested about them is not readily available. The average weekly cost of keeping a woman prisoner in custody was £140 in the financial year 1978–79: it is not possible separately to identify the cost of those at Brixton and Durham.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) why 684W women prisoners are being held at Brixton and Durham prisons;
(2) if he will list those men's prisons at which women are currently being held.
§ Mr. BrittanWomen prisoners are currently being held at Brixton and Durham prisons and Risley, Low Newton and Pucklechurch remand centres, the last two of which otherwise cater for male young offenders; women prisoners are also occasionally held overnight at Birmingham prison while in transit. Women prisoners on remand from courts in the South who require high security are held at Brixton prison because there is no other suitable accommodation. The women's wing at Durham prison holds sentenced women prisoners who require high security or are commencing long sentences, because it provides suitable accommodation and security.