To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average sentence handed down by courts in Northern Ireland for rape was in each of the last three years. (145487)

Table 1 as follows gives the number sentenced to immediate custody for rape and attempted rape and the average sentence length given for each of these offences and in total.

Data cover the calendar years 2003 to 2005 (the latest available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.