HC Deb 25 January 1988 vol 126 cc65-6W
Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the definition of alcoholism for the purposes of statistics on the treatment of alcoholism among prisoners changed between 1985 and 1986.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

The information on numbers of inmates in Scottish penal establishments treated for alcoholism in 1986 (as reported in the annual "Prisons in Scotland" report for 1986) was collected in the same way and on the same basis as figures for 1985 and earlier years.

The substantial fall in the number of male inmates treated for alcoholism in 1986 continued a similar downward trend evident in earlier years as follows:

Male inmates treated for alcoholism in Scottish penal establishments
Year Inmates
1983 1,730
1984 1,560
1985 1,165
1986 649