asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many certificates of unruliness were issued by the courts in respect of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 years in the most recent convenient 12-month period.

During the 12-month period October 1977 to September 1978 a total of 132 certificates of unruliness were issued in respect of girls; 53 related to 15 year olds and 79 to 16 year olds. The reception of 14 year old girls into prison on remand was prohibited by the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (Transitional Modifications of Part I) Order 1977 which came into operation on 15th March 1977.