§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will estimate the number of movements of Category A prisoners from one prison to another and between the prisons and the courts in 1982 and 1983 respectively, and in each year how many such prisoners escaped during the journey.
§ Lord EltonThe information which is readily available concerns the movement of Category A prisoners (including those provisionally in Category A) between prisons, to outside hospitals, for the purpose of participation in identity parades, to appeal hearings or as witnesses in court proceedings, but not journeys to court by unconvicted prisoners in connection with their own cases. This information shows approximately 330 movements in 1982 and approximately 400 in 1983, a journey out from and back to the same prison normally counting as a single movement. No Category A prisoners escaped from an escort during 1982 or 1983.