HC Deb 24 July 1990 vol 177 cc131-2W
Mr. Kilfedder

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners from Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic are currently serving a prison sentence in England and Wales.

Mr. Waddington

According to the records held centrally, on 31 March 1990 about 320 sentenced prisoners in prison service establishments in England and Wales who were citizens of the United Kingdom or whose citizenship was unknown were known to have been born in Northern Ireland.

The recording of nationality in the records held centrally for citizens of the Republic of Ireland is not completely reliable because it depends upon information provided by the prisoner. On 31 March 1990 about 440 sentenced prisoners in establishments in England and Wales were recorded as citizens of or born in the Republic of Ireland.