HC Deb 20 March 1997 vol 292 c833W
23. Mr. Connarty

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's latest estimate of overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales. [19804]

Miss Widdecombe

As at 19 March the total in-use certified normal accommodation of the Prison Service estate is 54,578. The population as at 19 March is 59,529 and the operational capacity is 60,563.