asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were convicted of housebreaking in 1935 and in cases where sentences of imprisonment were imposed, what was the average length of the sentence ; how many persons were convicted of housebreaking in 1977 ; and what was the average length of sentence.

Information in the form requested is not available. The number of persons convicted of housebreaking and the lengths of prison sentences imposed were published in tables III, IV and V of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1935 "—Cmd. 5520. Section 9 of the Theft Act 1968 abolished the offence of housebreaking; it also redefined the offence of burglary so that figures for this offence prior to 1st January 1969 are not comparable with those from that date. The number of persons convicted of burglary or aggravated burglary in a dwelling based on the current legislation and the lengths of prison sentences imposed were published in tables 1(a), 2, 5(a) and 6 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1977 "—Cmnd. 7289.