Mr. Flavellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons currently remanded in custody have spent (a) more than 90 days on remand and (b) more than 120 days on remand.
§ Mr. MellorInformation in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is estimated that on 31 January 1986, in prison department establishments in England and Wales there were about 2,600 untried and more than 400 convicted unsentenced prisoners whose date of initial remand into custody was more than 90 days earlier. Of these, about 1,800 untried and more than 300 convicted unsentenced prisoners had been initially remanded into custody more than 120 days earlier. These periods include any time spent on bail after the initial remand in custody and exclude any time spent on bail before the initial remand in custody.
§ Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department during the last year for which figures are available how many persons subsequently aquitted or not proceeded against spent (a) more than 90 days on remand and (b) more than 120 days on remand, in each case giving the total cost of keeping such persons in custody for periods in excess of that number of days.
§ Mr. MellorInformation in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, of the untried prisoners first remanded in custody in prison department establishments in England and Wales in 1984 and known to have been subsequently found not guilty or not proceeded against, about 940 had been first remanded in custody over 90 days earlier and, of these, about 740 over 120 days earlier. Because these periods include any time which was spent on bail following the initial remand in custody, the cost information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the average weekly net operating cost of keeping an inmate in the year ended 31 March 1985, as shown in the "Report on the Work of the Prison Department 1984/85" (Cmnd. 9699), was £241 in male local prisons and adult remand centres and £363 in female establishments.