HC Deb 18 February 1988 vol 127 cc712-3W
Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give, for each year since 1979, the figures for(a) the number of people convicted of murder, (b) the number of people given life sentences, (c) the number of people serving life sentences who were released from prison having served less than 10 years in prison and (d) the number of people given life sentences having already served a life sentence.

Mr. John Patten

[holding answer 4 February 1988]: The information requested is given in the following table. More detailed information about life sentence prisoners is given annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (table 1 (f) of the latest issue for 1986 Cm. 210) and in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", (Supplementary tables section 2.1(A) and section 2.4 of the latest issue for 1986). Copies of both publications are in the Library.

England and Wales
Number of persons
1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Persons convicted of murder:
136 169 126 184 132 150 173 179
Persons given life sentences1:
183 203 175 245 167 184 208 241
Life sentence prisoners1 released from Prison Department Establishments having spent less than 10 years in such establishments under sentence2
By type and date of release:
On licence 49 24 38 50 52 40 29 17
Other3 35 39 39 43 32 40 44 49
Persons released from Prison Department Establishments on life licence who were later given a further life sentence:
By year if further sentence:
1 1 44 1 24 3 2
1 Including custody for life and detention during Her Majesty's pleasure or for life under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
2 Excluding any time spent on remand in custody, in non-Prison Department establishments or following any subsequent recall.
3 Including successful appeals, deaths and transfers to psychiatric hospitals or outside England and Wales.
4 Including one person given life sentence in Scotland.