Prison population data is published on an end of month basis. The prison population for those serving a sentence of less than a year on 31 December 2016 was 5,954. This information is contained in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ), Table 1.1, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654646/prison-population-30-september-2017.xlsx

As at 30 September 2017, there were 6,141 prisoners serving sentences of less than a year; of whom, 624 had a release date on, or after, the 27 December 2017 and would therefore normally be serving their sentence in custody on 25 December.