Prison Population (Hansard, 7 December 1989)

§ 14. Mr. Cash
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for the total prison population; and what those figures were one year ago.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for the total prison population; and what were those figures one year ago.

§ Mr. Waddington
On Friday 1 December, the total prison population stood at 48,245. This compares with 50,172 held on Friday 2 December last year.

§ 40. Mr. Knox
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison at the most recent count.

§ Mr. Canavan
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total prison population in the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Mellor
On Friday 1 December the total prison population in England and Wales stood at 48,245. The responsibility for prisons in Scotland and Northern Ireland rests with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland respectively.

§ 60. Mr. Tom Clarke
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally ill and mentally handicapped persons are at present in prisons in England and Wales.

§ Mr. Mellor
On 31 March 1989, the latest date for which information is available, 215 prisoners in England and Wales were considered by medical officers to meet the criteria for detention in hospital, as set out in the Mental Health Act 1983. 185 of those prisoners were considered to be mentally ill, within the meaning of the Act. The term "mentally handicapped" is not one of the 4 specific categories of mental disorder defined in part I of the Act.