§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who attended hospital for confinement in each of the past 10 years (1) have(a) succeeded in escaping and (b) attempted to escape, (i) one hour before, (ii) two hours before, (iii) three hours before, (iv) four hours before and (v) five hours before their delivery and (2) have (a) succeeded in escaping and (b) attempted to escape (i) one hour after, (ii) two hours after, (iii) three hours after, (iv) four hours after and (v) five hours after their delivery. [8547]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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.
758WLetter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 31 January 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisoners who have escaped or attempted to escape having attended hospital for confinement in the past 10 years.Since 1988, when a data-base of escapes was first set up, the Prison Service has recorded no incidents of any woman escaping during the last stages of labour or during childbirth. One woman prisoner is recorded as having escaped more than five hours after the birth of her child. The child was abandoned at the hospital. There are no recorded incidents of attempted escape during or after confinement.