§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish a list of the magistrates courts in Greater London in order of the proportion of debtors gaoled in the last available year; and what was the number and percentage of debtors gaoled in each case.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe information requested is not recorded centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I understand, however, that, in 1990, 2,791 debtors of all kinds were received into prison establishments in England and Wales. Imprisonment will occur only when there has been wilful refusal to pay or culpable neglect to do so.