This information is not collected centrally and in order to provide it staff would need to look at each individual's record. This could be completed only at disproportionate cost. In addition, it would not be possible to guarantee the accuracy of the data as they are often reliant on information being provided by the prisoners themselves.
The 2003-04 resettlement survey commissioned by the then Prison Service Custody to Work Unit showed that half of all female prisoners had dependent children (including stepchildren), and that 46 per cent. of those women had lived with at least one dependent child before custody.