§ Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people serving life sentences were in jail in 1995; and how many are serving life sentences at the latest date for which figures are available. [147427]
§ Mr. BoatengThere were 3,289 persons serving a life sentence in prisons in England and Wales in 1995. Provisional data show that currently there are 3,631 persons serving a life sentence in prisons in England and Wales. This information is also published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics England and Wales" (chapter 8 of the 1995 edition, Cm 3355) copies of which are in the Library.
770W
§ Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners are serving sentences of more than(a) 25 years, (b) 20 years, (c) 15 years and (d) 10 years, respectively; [147429]
(2) how many people convicted of murder are serving sentences of more than (a) 25 years, (b) 20 years, (c) 15 years and (d) 10 years, respectively. [147428]
§ Mr. BoatengProvisional information on lengths of sentences for prisoners throughout England and Wales is given in the table. This information is also published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics England and Wales" (In the 1999 edition, Cm 4805) copies of which are in the Library.
Persons in prison throughout England and Wales serving more than 25 years, 20 years, 15 years and 10 years respectively, and the proportion of these that have been convicted of Murder Length of sentence All prisoners Prisoners convicted of murder More than 25 years 4,800 3,449 More than 20 years 4,883 3,449 More than 15 years 5,290 3,451 More than 10 years 7,297 3,451