§ MR. RAWLINSONI beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General whether the Government propose, having regard to Clause 12 of the Criminal Appeal Bill, to increase to any, and what, extent the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions; and, if so, what estimate has been made of the cost of such increase.
§ SIR JOHN WALTONThe clause itself provides for such increase in the staff as may prove to be necessary. It is impossible to forecast the consequent cost to the Department until experience has shown the extent to which convicted persons avail themselves of the right to appeal.
§ MR. RAWLINSONI beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General whether any, and what, estimate has been made of the expenditure likely to be incurred under Clauses 12 and 13 of the Criminal Appeal Bill.
§ SIR JOHN WALTONNo estimate of the expenditure has been or can be made for the reason stated in the last Answer. An estimate at this stage is doubly difficult, because not only is the number of applications for leave to appeal largely speculative, but the proportion of cases in which leave will be given is uncertain. In my opinion, the pro portion will be small, and the cost of consequent appeals not great.
§ MR. RAWLINSONI beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General what is the estimated expenditure necessary for carrying out the provisions of Clause 16 (2) of the Criminal Appeal Bill, differentiating between the cost of taking shorthand notes and the cost of transcribing the same respectively.
§ SIR JOHN WALTONThe cost of taking down in shorthand the Report of every criminal trial has not yet been estimated, but I will ascertain whether there is any difficulty in this being done. The expense cannot be large. The more important item of obtaining transcripts of the portions of such Reports which the Court may desire to see cannot be estimated at this stage for the reasons already given.