§ 31. Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest figure for the number of people in prison in England and Wales; and how this compares as a percentage of the population with figures for other European Community countries.
§ Mr. HurdOn the night of 27 October the prison population in England and Wales was 43,898 plus 259 in police cells. This represents about 88 per 100,000 of the population of England and Wales. Comparative figures for other EEC countries are not held and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.