To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of detaining convicted and remand female prisoners in the same prison. [19830]

[holding answer 9 December 1997]: It is Prison Service policy to detain convicted and unconvicted female prisoners in the same prison to enable them, on their return from court, to await transfer to a training prison, to serve a short sentence, to be held close to their homes and, for those facing further charges, to remain near the courts.This does not necessarily mean that unconvicted prisoners should mix with convicted prisoners, unless they are willing to do so. At most local prisons, however, overcrowding prevents complete separation and some mixing is unavoidable, both for activities and in living areas. Where unconvicted prisoners have to live on the same landing as convicted prisoners, they cannot be required to share cells with convicted prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the psychological effect of incarceration on female prisoners. [19837]

[holding answer 9 December 1997]: The Prison Service has commissioned no research which has been specifically concerned to measure the psychological impact of imprisonment on women prisoners.