To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average custodial sentence applied for manslaughter in England in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [17087]

Information for 1990 to 1996 is given in the following table:

Average sentence length1 given at the Crown Court for offences of manslaughter 1990 to 1996
England
Offence/year	People sentenced to immediate custody	Average sentence length1 (months)	Number of life sentences
Manslaughter (Common Law and Offences Against the Person Act 1861, sections 5, 9 and 10)
1990	128	56.6	9
1991	145	53.9	10
1992	200	58.9	10
1993	167	63.3	8
1994	160	60.0	5
1995	166	58.5	6
1996	196	61.3	13
Manslaughter due to diminished responsibility (Homicide Act 1957, section 2)
1990	8	51.0	2
1991	12	64.0	6
1992	6	72.0	3
1993	11	57.3	2
1994	9	51.0	3
1995	13	55.5	5
1996	7	61.0	1
1 Excludes life sentences.

Apart from the requirement under the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 for the courts to give automatic life sentences for people convicted of manslaughter for a second time, and within the statutory limits set by Parliament, sentences in individual cases are a matter for the courts.