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Written question asked by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord McNally (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 28 February 2013.

Prisoners: Religion

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what statistics they have published on the religion of prisoners in England and Wales since the end of 2010.[HL5638]

Answer

Statistics on the prison population by religion in England and Wales are published annually within table A1.23 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics—annual tables, available at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly/oms-quarterly-editions.

The table below provides information on the population in prison establishments in England and Wales by religion as at 30 June 2011.

2011
Total
 85,374
All Christian
 42,511
Anglican
 19,713
Free Church
 1,136
Roman Catholic
 15,001
Other Christian
 6,661
Muslim
 10,672
Hindu
 452
Sikh
 711
Buddhist
 1,793
Jewish
 228
Other religious group
 1,010
Non recognised
 17
No religion
 26,113
Not recorded
 1,867

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
743 c357WA; HL5638
Session
2012-13
Subjects
Prisoners Religion
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk