§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the proportion of 17 to 20-year-olds being given a prison sentence for criminal damage by area of the country where the case is heard.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is given in the table. Data for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.
Percentage of persons aged 17 to 20 sentenced for criminal damage offences who received immediate custody by police force area and type of court—1988 England and Wales Percentage of total persons sentenced Police force area Magistrates'courts Crown Court Avon and Somerset 1 2— Bedfordshire 217 238 Cambridgeshire 4 267 Cheshire 7 264 Cleveland 7 263 Cumbria 7 2100 Derbyshire 4 265 Devon and Cornwall 7 240 Dorset — 243 Durham 2— 246 Essex 4 275 Gloucestershire — 210 Greater Manchester 3 39 Hampshire 2 224 Hertfordshire 2— 214 Humberside 5 273 Kent 4 242 Lancashire 8 265 Leicestershire 3 245 Lincolnshire 3 240 Merseyside — 26 Metropolitan Police District1 2 26 Norfolk 213 250 Northamptonshire 6 250 Northumbria 6 32 North Yorkshire 10 233 Nottinghamshire 2 267 South Yorkshire 7 46 Staffordshire 8 248 Suffolk 4 256 Surrey 3 231 Sussex 7 250 Thames Valley 1 42 Warwickshire — 240 West Mercia 2 250 West Midlands 9 56 West Yorkshire 2 35 Wiltshire 2 2100 England 4 43 Dyfed-Powys 2 240 Gwent 8 267 North Wales 3 267 South Wales 3 267 Wales 4 63 England and Wales 4 44 1 Includes City of London. 2 Denotes fewer than 25 persons sentenced in this age group.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to establish limits on the722W variation in the probability of an offender being given a custodial sentence in different areas of the country for similar offences.
§ Mr. John PattenOur proposals for a more coherent statutory framework to achieve greater consistency in sentencing are set out in the White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm 965), published on 6 February.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which individuals and organisations he has discussed the issue of an agreed national sentencing framework; and what advice he received.
§ Mr. John PattenA wide variety of organisations and individuals have contributed to the public debate about criminal justice which preceded publication of our White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm 965) on 6 February.