§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with progress in implementing the recommendations of the 1971 habitual drunken offenders report; which recommendations have so far been implemented; which recommendations he proposes to implement and when; and if he will set out reasons for his decisions.
§ Mr. BrittanThe then Home Secretary announced in a written reply on 18 February 1972 that the Secretary of State for Social Services would be generally responsible for carrying out the rehabilitative measures recommended in this report. In particular, the Department of Health and Social Security accepted responsibility for the funding of two experimental detoxification centres, which are now being evaluated in a project commissioned by that Department.
Although formal responsibility for the treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholics rests with the Department of Health and Social Services, the prison and probation and after-care service have always recognised the relationship between drinking and offending and accept a role in assisting those with a serious drinking problem. The probation and after-care service in particular has directed its efforts both towards diverting those with drinking problems from penal establishments where this is not contrary to the public interest and in providing rehabilitative support for ex-offenders.
There are two main areas in which resources are allocated; firstly, the provision of day care facilities and supported-work schemes, largely run by the probation and after-care service; and, secondly the provision of hostel places, for which, as well as supporting the provision of places in probation and bail hostels administered by the probation and aftercare service, we grant-aid voluntary 7W organisations. Such organisations now provide in excess of 2,500 places for exoffenders, many of whom have a drink problem.
In general, the report has made a valuable contribution to the development of facilities for offenders who habitually commit offences involving drunkenness, but it would not be practicable to describe in a writteen answer all the action which had been taken on its 105 recommendations in the nine years since it was published.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the ages, place and length of sentence and place of imprisonment of the men aged over 30 years who served over three months and the seven men who served over two months in 1979 in default of payment of a fine for drunkenness.
§ Mr. BrittanIn 1979, five men aged 30 and over whose principal offence was default of payment of a fine for drunkenness were received into prison department establishments in England and Wales with a sentence of more than two months and up to and including three months. Two of the receptions shown in table 7.1 of "Prison statistics, England and Wales 1979" (Cmnd 7978) under the clasification "drunkenness" were found, on further examination, to have been misclassified as was the one reception shown as for more than three months and up to and including six months.
The five men were aged 30, 31, 44, 55 and 67. One was sentenced by Arundel magistrates and the others by Ealing Pudsey and Otley, Southampton and Swansea magistrates. Two men were sentenced to 63 days and one each to 64, 70 and 90 days.
Where a person is received on sentence for a criminal offence and a non-criminal offence, the total sentence length is recorded against the criminal offence. The man received on sentence of 90 days had received 14 days for a drunkenness offence and 90 days concurrent on a non-criminal charge. The five men were received into the following prisons: two into Pentonville and one each into Leeds, Swansea and Winchester.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was 8W the age of (a) the oldest man and (b) the oldest woman in prison for (i) drunkenness and (ii) begging and sleeping out how long each has served; and where.
§ Mr. BrittanIn 1979 the oldest man received into a prison department establishment in England and Wales whose principal offence was default of a payment of a fine for drunkenness was aged 76 and the oldest woman was aged 74. The man was received on sentence into Bedford prison and served seven days imprisonment; the woman was received on sentence into Risley remand centre and served seven days.
The oldest man received on sentence whose principal offence was begging and sleeping out was aged 75 and the oldest woman was aged 64. The man was received into Pentonville prison on sentence of immediate imprisonment and served 28 days; the woman was received into Holloway prison with a consecutive sentence for another offence and served 62 days.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what were the ages, length and place of imprisonment of the 10 people and under 21 years imprisoned in default of payment of a fine for drunkenness in 1979;
(2) what were the ages, length and place of imprisonment of the 10 girls under 21 years imprisoned in default of payment of a fine for drunkenness in 1979.
§ Mr. BrittanIn 1979 10 females aged under 21 whose principal offence was default of payment of a fine for drunkenness were received into prison department establishments in England and Wales under sentence. Three were aged 17, two were 18, two were 19, and three were 20. Six were sentenced to seven days and two each to five and 14 days. They were received on sentence into the following establishments: four each into Low Newton and Risley remand centres and one each into Holloway prison and Pucklechurch remand centre.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the ages and length and place of imprisonment of the women aged 30 years and over imprisoned for over two months, and the two women imprisoned for up to 9W two months in 1979 in default of payment of a fine for drunkenness.
§ Mr. BrittanIn 1979 a woman aged 55 was received into Holloway sentenced to 70 days in default of payment of a fine for which the principal offence was drunkenness. Another two women, one aged 35 and the other aged 40 were also received into Holloway for the same principal offence and with sentences of 39 days and 42 days respectively.