asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many open prisons there are (a) for men and (b) for women; and how many prisoners each accommodates.

This information is published annually in the report on the work of the Prison Department. There has been no significant change from the position described in Cmnd. 6877, pages 79–80 and 85.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many open prisons have been closed in the past 10 years and on what dates; where they are situated; and how many prisoners they accommodated.

Three open training prisons for men were closed in December 1974. They were Bela River (Cumbria), Drake Hall (Staffordshire) and Haldon Camp (Exeter, Devon). Certified normal accommodation before closure was 250, 380 and 196 respectively. Drake Hall was re-opened in October 1975 as an open training prison for women.