§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prison escapes in each category for each of the last 10 years. [4739]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Chris Mullin, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the Office, to reply to your recent question asking if he will list the number of prisoner escapes in each category for the last 10 years.Information about the number of escapes by category has only been recorded centrally since the 20 June 1988. Escapes by prisoners who are not category A are shown by the category of prison not prisoner. Most "escapes" by category D prisoners are classed as absconds. These are not included in the figures in the attached tables.