HC Deb 07 May 1985 vol 78 cc329-30W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners were found to be (a) mentally disturbed and (b) mentally sub-normal in the last census carried out by the prison medical service;

(2) how frequently the prison medical service carries out a census of the number of mentally disturbed people in prison; and when the last census was carried out;

(3) what criteria are used by the prison medical service in assessing mental illness in its census of mentally disturbed prisoners;

(4) if he will estimate the number of mentally disturbed prisoners, applying the same criteria of assessment as are so applied in the population as a whole.

Mr. Mellor

Prison medical officers make statistical returns at six-monthly intervals of prisoners whom they assess as suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which would satisfy the criteria in the Mental Health Act 1983 for detention in hospital for treatment. Two additional censuses were carried out in 1984 as a special exercise. Further details of the census arrangements are contained in circular instruction 36/1984, a copy of which is in the Library. The latest census for which figures are available is that for 31 December 1984, which showed that 282 prisoners were assessed as mentally disordered within the terms of the Act, of whom 225 were diagnosed as suffering from mental illness, 48 from psychopathic disorder, seven from mental impairment and two from severe mental impairment. We understand from the Department of Health and Social Security that there is no similar periodic survey of the general population.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current projection of the size of the prison population of England and Wales in 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively.

Mr. Mellor

The latest published projections of trends in the average prison population, made at the end of 1983, were given in Home Office statistical bulletin issue 8/84 on 18 April 1984. It is planned to publish soon a further bulletin giving the most recent annual projections.