§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the prison population in England and Wales for the latest available date; and how many of those prisoners had been sentenced by:(a) a crown court and (b) a magistrates' court; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 25 January 1990]: On 26 January 1990 there were 46,630 prisoners in prison service establishments in England and Wales.
Details of sentencing courts are published annually in prison statistics England and Wales (table 1.15 of the latest volume, for 1988 (Cm. 825)), copies of which are in the Library. The latest available information is for June 1989 and is given in the table.
Population under sentence in Prison Service establishments on 30 June 1989: by court sentencing Court Sentencing Number1 Crown Court 33,100 Magistrates' court 3,400 Other courts 100 Not recorded 1,500 Total sentenced population 38,000 1 Provisional figures.