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Prisons: Overcrowding

Volume 458: debated on Wednesday 28 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners shared a cell intended for one prisoner in each of the last three years. (129944)

The following table shows the average monthly number of prisoners doubled up in cells designed for one and the proportion of the prisoner population this represents. There are no instances of more than two prisoners sharing a cell designed for one. The practice of three prisoners sharing a cell designed for one (trebling) ended in 1994.

Doubling information since 2003-04

Financial year

Average monthly doubling1

Proportion of prisoners doubled (percentage)

2003-04

16,363

22.2

2004-05

16,878

22.6

2005-06

16,986

22.2

2006-072

17,974

22.8

1 Figures subject to rounding.

2 Figures for 2006-07 currently provisional.