§ Lord Harris of Greenwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the average period spent by defendants aged under 17 on remand in custody in each year from 1990 to 1995; and
What was the average population of defendants aged under 17 on remand in custody in each year from 1990 to 1995 inclusive; and
What were the end-of-month figures for defendants aged under 17 held on remand in custody in each month during the years 1990 to 1995.
§ Baroness BlatchResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Lord Harris of Greenwich from the Director General of the Prison Service, Mr. Richard Tilt, dated 16th April 1996.
Lady Blatch has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about remand defendants under 17 years of age.
Information on the number of defendants aged under 17, on remand in custody on 30th June each year for the years 1990 to 1994 is given in Prison statistics, England and Wales (Table 3.2 of the 1994 edition, Cm 3087), copies of which are available in the Library. Information for 1995 is given in the attached table.
The available information for the average period spent by defendants aged under 17 on remand in custody in each year from 1990 to 1995 is given in the attached table.
Population of remand prisoners aged under 17 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 30th June 19951 Type of custody Number Untried 138 Convicted unsentenced 73 1 Provisional figures
Average time held in custody on remand1 for persons aged under 17 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales, 1990–1995 Year Type of custody 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Untried 25 16 19 25 32 28 Convicted unsentenced 14 16 17 18 31 19 1 The average days in custody are estimated from the population held on 30th June each year and the total number of initial receptions in the year. The estimates, particularly for convicted unsentenced prisoners are subject to some uncertainty due to the small numbers held.