§ Mr. S. C. Silkinasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in (a) the past 10 years, (b) the past 20 years and (c) since the Act came into force a person has been indicted for an offence under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929; on how many of such occasions such a person has been convicted; and what was the range of penalties imposed for such offences.
§ Mr. MayhewThe information requested is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", offence classification 4B, table S2.1(A) of volume 2 of the supplementary tables for 1981. The records available to us, which may not be exact, show 12 persons indicted for trial at the higher court in England and Wales for offences against the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, up to the end of 1959, seven of whom were found guilty. One was sentenced to three years' penal servitude, one to immediate imprisonment for under six months, one placed on recognisance with a probation condition, three were fined and one otherwise dealt with. No one is recorded as having been indicted or convicted under this Act since 1959.