Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences had previously received at least one community sentence in each year since 2010.

Data showing the proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences, who have previously had at least one community sentence for each of the last ten years, is published on the Police National Computer. This can be viewed in the table below.

Table showing the proportion of offenders(1), (2) sentenced to immediate custody(3) in each year, 2010-2021(4), who previously(5) received at least one community order(6), prior to the immediate custodial sentence. England and Wales(7).

1 - 'Proportion' refers to: The number of offenders in each year who received an immediate custodial sentence on in each year and had at least one previous community order as a proportion of all offenders who received an immediate custodial sentence in the same year.

2 - Offenders are counted once in each year but may appear in multiple years if they received an immediate custodial sentence in more than one of the ten years.

3- Immediate custodial sentences include types of detention other than adult prison (e.g. detention and training orders given to 10 to 17 year olds or detention in Young Offenders Institutions). An offender sentenced to immediate custody does not necessarily mean that the offender is a member of the prison population.

4 - The figures for 2020 and 2021 are likely to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 - Previous community orders may have been received at any time prior to the index offence (last immediate custodial sentence) in each year.

6 - Community orders strictly include community orders, with or without electronic monitoring or curfew restrictions, but excludes other types of community sentences (e.g. youth rehabilitation order, supervision orders) and other sentences that may be served in the community (e.g. suspended sentence). At least some of the orders included were only introduced in their current form in 2005.

7 - England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas plus the British Transport Police