§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women sent to prison in England and Wales during the last 12 months had children under the age of five years at the time they were sentenced. [158386]
440W
§ Mr. BoatengDetails of the number and ages of children are not recorded on the Prison Service's Inmate Information System. However a survey to determine the level of demand for places in mother and baby units was undertaken in October 2000. Provisional results from the survey show that there were approximately 380 female prisoners with children aged under the age of five. The total female prison population at the end of October 2000 was 3,433.