§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list escapes from the court escort service in(a) London and (b) England and Wales in (i) 1979, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990 and (iv) the last year for which figures are available. [21895]
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 3 May 1995]: Responsibility 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 Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 9 May 1995:
380WThe Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for a list of escapes from the Court Escort Service in (a) London and (b) England and Wales in (i) 1979, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990 and (iv) the last year for which figures are available.The Court Escort Service started escorting prisoners in England and Wales (Area 7—East Midlands and Humberside) from 5 April 1993 and in London (Metropolitan) from 27 June 1994. The Metropolitan Court Escort Service is being phased in and is not yet fully implemented.The information for the last year available (5 April 1994–31 March 1995) is given below:
Period Escort Service Area Number of Escapes 5 April 1994–31 March 1995 Area 7 13 27 June 1994–31 March 1995 Metropolitan 2 Figures exclude prisoners recaptured within 15 minutes provided no further offences has been committed.
Information about escapes from police forces in earlier years is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.