§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current estimate of the number of people who are(a) mentally ill, (b) drug misusers and (c) alcohol addicted in prisons in England and Wales.
§ 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.
Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 18 October 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the numbers of mentally ill, drug misusers and alcohol addicted prisoners.A study by Professor J. Gunn, Dr. T. Maden and Dr. M. Swinton1 of the Institute of Psychiatry, completed in 1991, suggested that of the sentenced population 19.2 per cent. had some form of psychiatric disorder and 19.6 per cent. had been substance misusers prior to corning into prison.A parallel research study has recently commenced to provide a psychiatric profile of the unsentenced prison population.1Gunn, Maden and Swinton, "Mentally Disordered Prisoners", Home Office, 1991.