§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of(a) men and (b) women serving a prison sentence in prisons in England and Wales at the latest available date after having been convicted of sexual offences against children.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
721WLetter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 26 May 1993:
The Secretary of State has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of men and women in custody for sexual offences against children.
The latest available provisional figures are for 31 March 1993. They show that about 210 male and 3 female prisoners were serving sentences in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales for unlawful sexual intercourse with a female under 16 years of age or gross indecency with or indecent assault on a child. Other inmates will however be serving sentences for rape, buggery and other sexual offences and for murder involving a sexual assault. The statistics for these offences do not distinguish the age of the victim.