§ Mr. Lyellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest available information on the use of partly suspended sentences.
§ Mr. WhitelawIn the four months October 1982 to January 1983 about 11 per cent. of adults received into prison department establishments in England and Wales with a sentence of immediate imprisonment in the range six months to two years had part of their sentences suspended. The part suspended was on average more than half of the sentence imposed. If this form of sentence continued to be used in this way, and if all these sentences replaced sentences of immediate imprisonment of the same total length then they would eventually reduce the prison population by about 600. More detailed information will be included in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" for 1982. Information on the use of the sentence by the courts will be included in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" for 1982. Both publications will be issued in the second half of 1983.