§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving life terms in United Kingdom jails have served(a) more than 25 years, (b) more than 30 years, (c) more than 35 years and (d) more than 40 years; and how many such prisoners there are in total. [121262]
§ Mr. BoatengResponsibility for persons detained in prisons in Scotland and Northern Ireland lies with the First Minister of the Scottish Executive and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, respectively.
As at 31 March 2000, a total of 4,469 persons were serving life sentences in prisons in England and Wales. A breakdown of these inmates, showing the time elapsed since reception under sentence, is given in the table. Prisoners who had been released on licence and subsequently recalled are included in the statistics. Such time spent on licence is included in the calculation of the time since sentenced.
Life sentence prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales on 31 March 2000, by interval since reception under sentence Time since sentenced1 Number Up to 25 years 4,303 Over 25 up to 30 years 97 Over 30 up to 35 years 50 Over 35 up to 40 years 11 Over 40 years 8 All life sentence prisoners 4,469 1 Including any time spent on release under licence but excluding any time spent on remand before sentencing.