§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of persons at present serving prison sentences of (a) up to 6 months, (b) 6 to 12 months, (c) 1 to 3 years, (d) 3 to 10 years, (e) 10 to 20 years and (f) 20 to 30 years.
§ Mr. Mayhew:The information requested is given in the following table:
Population of persons under sentence* of imprisonment in prison department establishments in England and Wales on 31 August 1981: by length of sentence Up to and including 6 months 5,500 Over 6 months up to and including 12 months 4,500 Over 12 months up to and including 3 years 10,900 Over 3 years up to and including 10 years 5,600 Over 10 years up to and including 20 years 400 Over 20 years up to and including 30 years ** Over 30 years‡ 1,700 Total 28,500 354W
- * Includes persons imprisoned in default of payment of a fine; excludes those sentenced to borstal training or given a detention center order.
- † Rounded estimates. Components do not add to the total because they have been rounded independently.
- ‡ Including life sentences and those prisoners detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure.
- ** About 10 people only in this group.
§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are in prison having committed offences which involve fraud in claiming supplementary benefit or other abuses; and what is the cost of these persons' imprisonment.
§ Mr. Mayhew:The information collected centrally does not distinguish between different types of offences of fraud. The numbers in prison department establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1980 who had been sentenced for offences of fraud is published in table 1.5 of "Prison statistics, England and Wales", Cmnd. 8372. Information on the average cost of maintaining an inmate in custody in the financial year 1979–80 is published in paragraphs 101–2 and appendix No. 6 of the "Report on the work of Prison Department 1980", Cmnd. 8228; average costs are not available separately for different categories of prisoner.