Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 23 January 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 January 2001. It was answered by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Monday, 29 January 2001 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of women sentenced to immediate imprisonment have no previous convictions; and if he will give a breakdown of the type of offences (a) such women and (b) all women sentenced to imprisonment have committed in the latest year for which figures are available. - Includes table and ref to 'Prison Statistics England and Wales' (chapter one of the 1999 edition Cm 4805), copies in Library.

Answer: Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of women sentenced to immediate imprisonment have no previous convictions; and if he will give a breakdown of the type of offences (a) such women and (b) all women sentenced to imprisonment have committed in the latest year for which figures are available. [147467] Mr. Boateng: Provisional information shows that in December 2000 there were 628 women in the prison population of England and Wales that had been sentenced to immediate imprisonment. Information on the number of women in prison in England and Wales, and which types of crimes they have committed is given in the table. This information is also published in successive volumes of "Prison Statistics England and Wales" (chapter one of the 1999 edition, Cm 4805), copies of which are in the Library. Number of women received into prisons throughout England and Wales in 2000 broken down by offence type and custody _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Offence group Sentenced women received under immediate All sentenced imprisoned women custody Violence against the person 94 345 Frauds and forgery 60 92 Theft and handling 119 316 Drug offences 208 956 Sex offences 9 23 Robbery 26 155 Burglary 23 112 Offence not recorded 36 48 Other offences 53 158 Total 628 2,205 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information