Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Imprisonment Rates

Tuesday 22 November 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministry of Justice publishes criminal justice system statistics including custody rates.
  • Latest custody rate data for all offences is 6.6% for the year ending June 2022.
  • Cardiff University found courts in Wales imprison more people per head of population than England.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Liz Saville-Roberts PC Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Justice & Courts
Context

The question arises from the need to understand recent imprisonment trends and their implications. Liz Saville-Roberts seeks clarity on the Ministry of Justice's estimates.

Question

What recent estimate he has made of imprisonment rates?

Answer from Edward Argar

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of people sentenced to immediate custody along with other sentencing outcomes in criminal justice system statistics. The latest publication is for the year ending June 2022. The custody rate was 6.6% for all offences, 33% for indictable offences, and 1.1% for summary only offences.

Answered
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Q2 Liz Saville-Roberts PC Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Justice & Courts
Context

Cardiff University has noted that courts in Wales imprison more people per head of population than England. The question seeks clarity on the reasons behind this and requests Wales-specific justice data.

Question

These data are significant. Cardiff University has uncovered the fact that courts in Wales imprison more people per head of population than England, and I am sure the Minister agrees that we need to know why. That is nigh-on impossible, however, when England and Wales are treated as identical for justice, even though key services are devolved. For justice to be best served in Wales we need to know what is happening in Wales, and who is responsible for what. Will the Minister commit to publishing Wales-specific data annually from now on?

Answer from Edward Argar

I appreciate the point she makes but, as she will appreciate, the English and Welsh justice systems are one justice system, and it is not a simple task to disaggregate the data depending on whether someone is sentenced to imprisonment and serves in England or in Wales. I am happy to meet her to discuss the issue.

Partly answered

Not addressed: commitment to publishing Wales-specific data annually

How: I Am Happy To Meet Her To Discuss The Issue

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