§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the(a) capacity of the English prisons system and (b) the number of actual prisoners in the English prisons system in each year since 1980–81; [56221]
(2) how many people have been in prison in England in each reporting period since 1979; and if he will make a statement. [56235]
§ Beverley HughesI have placed in the Library tables showing the population in prisons in England and Wales from January 1979 to March 2002, the In-use Certified Normal Accommodation (uncrowded capacity), and the population in prisons in England from January 1989 to March 2002 (the latest data available).