Remand Prisoners (Hansard, 14 December 1995)

§ Mr. Steinberg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is currently the average time a remand prisoner spends in custody while awaiting trial(a) in Durham and (b) in the United Kingdom. [5127]

§ Miss Widdecombe
Responsibility for this matter for England and Wales has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given. Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland respectively.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 14 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking, what is the average time a prisoner spends in custody whilst awaiting trial (a) in Durham and (b) in the United Kingdom.Information on the average time spent in custody for untried prisoners awaiting trial in Durham is not available. The available information on the estimated average time spent in custody for untried prisoners in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales in 1994 was given in a written reply to a Question from Mr. Jim Cunningham MP (Coventry South East) on 5 December (Co1.210).

§ Ms Janet Anderson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimate of the additional annual costs incurred as a result of prisoners being held on remand beyond the statutory time limit. [1701]

§ Miss Widdecombe
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 14 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for the estimate of the additional annual costs incurred as a result of prisoners being held on remand beyond the statutory time limit.The available information relates to Prison Service costs for additional time served by prisoners awaiting Crown Court trial beyond the statutory time limit. About seventy five per cent of such prisoners receive a custodial sentence so that no net additional period in prison occurs. Overall, the additional annual cost incurred by the Prison Service is approximately £5 million in the current year.A reliable estimate of the cost of holding prisoners on magistrates' court remand in excess of the custody time limit is not available.