§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current prison population; and what were the figures for each of the previous four years. [20744]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 1 May 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the current prison population; and for the figures for each of the previous four years.On 24 April the prison population of England and Wales was 50,659, of whom 365 were held in police cells. The average prison populations for the previous four years are shown in the table below.
Year Number held in prison service establishments Number held in police cells Total 1994 48,622 173 48,795 1993 44,552 14 44,566 1992 44,720 1,098 45,818 1991 44,809 1,088 45,897