Written question asked by David TC Davies (Conservative) on Monday, 4 September 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 September 2006. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Thursday, 26 October 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total prison population is eligible (a) for weekend release and (b) to work outside prison.

Answer: [holding answer 12 September 2006]: The eligibility requirements for release on temporary licence are complex. These include, for example, the length of sentence imposed, the prisoner’s security category and the period of the sentence the prisoner has served. Full details are contained in Prison Service Order 6300, which is available on the prison service website and in the Library.Information on the number of prisoners who are eligible for any type of temporary release, including those eligible to work outside prison and those eligible for overnight temporary release is not held centrally and could only be obtained by examining individual prisoner records held in establishments. This could be carried out only at disproportionate cost. Data on the numbers of releases on temporary licence broken down by type of licence are contained in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004 which is available on the Home Office website.

Secondary information