§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Attorney-General what is the average length of time 500W spent awaiting trial after committal to Crown courts of Greater London for (a) defendants on bail and (b) defendants in custody on the most convenient date for this and the last five years, respectively.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe information is available on an annual basis for the five London Crown court centres* and is as follows:
Average waiting time in weeks Year Bail Custody 1973 25.4 12.8 1974 22.0 11.6 1975 17.3 12.5 1976 21.2 14.0 1977 25.6 15.2 The average waiting time for the same courts in January-March 1978 was 28.2 weeks for bail cases and 17.1 weeks for custody cases.
*Central Criminal Court, Inner London Sessions House, Knightsbridge, Middlesex Guildhall and Snaresbrook.