§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally handicapped persons are currently detained in Her Majesty's prisons; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. HurdThe number of mentally handicapped inmates is not recorded. However, prison medical officers made six-monthly returns of inmates whom they consider to be mentally disordered within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983. On 29 September 1983, the most recent date for which these statistics are available, there were 316 inmates who were considered by medical officers to be mentally disordered within the terms of the Mental Health Act 1959, which was then still in force. Of these, two were assessed as severely subnormal and 21 as subnormal.