§ 6. Dame Judith Hartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now permit payment by the Crown of expenses to accused persons in cases where the verdict is "not guilty" or where there is a formal verdict that there is no case to answer.
§ Mr. YoungerNo. This matter was considered by the Thomson committee on "Criminal Procedure in Scotland", Cmnd. 6218, which concluded that the award of expenses to persons acquitted in criminal proceedings was neither necessary nor desirable. The committee had in mind the existence in Scotland of an independent prosecution service, the wide availability of non-contributory legal aid, and the assistance often provided by motoring, trade union and other organisations. I remain persuaded by its assessment of the matter.
§ Dame Judith HartI am fully aware of all that the Thomson committee said 10 years ago. Will the Secretary of State take into account the fact that, according to his own information, last year there were almost 9,000 cases of crimes and offences—about half of each—in which the suspect was found not guilty, or the charge was withdrawn or it was found that there was no case to answer? Is he aware that there was great hardship in many of those cases?
Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that Thomson's conclusion that most people involved would receive financial support from an organisation or would qualify for legal aid is not true? There is great hardship. Ten years later, will the Secretary of State re-examine the matter?
§ Mr. YoungerI appreciate the right hon. Lady's point. However, I must observe that any cases of genuine hardship are covered by legal aid. For people who are otherwise affected, there are other sources of aid. The Thomson committee went into the issue extremely carefully and I do not believe that it would be worth while trying to second guess by having a full review of the matter.