§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the data for women are not disaggregated in Table 6 of the Prison Population Brief for England and Wales, January 2002; and if he will make a statement. [46500]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 26 March 2002]:Table six of the Prison Population Brief deals with receptions into prison establishments. Female prisoners currently account for 7.8 per cent. of all receptions into prisons and 5.9 per cent. of the total prison population. For this reason we have up to now stated the total number of female receptions while providing a more detailed analysis of the male population.
However, the data are readily available and I have arranged for future briefs to include more analysis of the data on women.