§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average length of time spent in prison department establishments of persons detained under Immigration Act powers for 1982 and 1983;
(2) what was the average daily prison population during 1982 and 1983 of persons detained under Immigration Act powers.
§ Mr. HurdThe average number of persons detained in prison department establishments in England and Wales under the Immigration Act 1971 is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales"—table 1.4 of the issue for 1982, Cmnd. 9027. The average period of detention of such persons discharged in 1981 was five weeks, and in 1982 four and a half weeks; these average656W prosecutions there have been for the physical abuse of children; and what is the incidence of such cases among (a) one-parent families and (b) two-parent families.
§ Mr. MellorThere is no specific criminal offence of physical abuse of a child; prosecutions against actions of this type may be recorded under various offence classifications, only some of which distinguish the age of the victim. The readily available information on offences known on the children is given in the following table. For other types of offence—for example, rape or wounding—the information collected centrally does not distinguish offences against children from those against adults. Information is not available on the family circumstances of such offences.
periods do not include any time spent in police cells or immigration service detention units. Information for 1983 is not yet available.
§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of people received into prison department establishments under Immigration Act powers during 1983 by individual prison establishment and category.
§ Mr. HurdThe most recent readily available information relates to 1982 and is given in the following table. Details of category could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
657W
Receptions into Prison Department Establishments in England and Wales in 1982 of People Detained under the Immigration Act 1971: by establishment Establishment Number of receptions* Remand centres Ashford 706 Brockhill 2 Exeter 1 Low Newton 1 Risley 39 Winchester 1 Prisons Bedford 8 Birmingham 20 Bristol 15 Brixton 14 Camp Hill 1 Canterbury 13 Cardiff 6 Dorchester 2 Durham 8 Exeter 5 Gloucester 4 Holloway 63 Leeds 15 Leicester 3 Lewes 1 Lincoln 6 Manchester 5 Norwich 4 Oxford 1 Pentonville 6 Reading 1 Shrewsbury 1 Wormwood Scrubs 2 Winchester 9 TOTAL 963 * The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate: detailed checking of individual cases would involve disproportionate cost.