§ Mr. Arthur Davidsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many defendants tried at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in the last 12 months were in receipt of legal aid; how many of these pleaded guilty; and how these figures compared with the previous 12 months;
(2) what proportion of the total defendants tried at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in the last 12 months were legally aided; and how the figure compares with the previous 12 months;
(3) how many defendants tried at the Crown courts of Liverpool and Manchester, respectively, in the last 12 months were in receipt of legal aid; how many pleaded guilty; and how these figures compared with the previous 12 months;
(4) what proportion of the total defendants tried at the Crown courts of Liverpool and Manchester, respectively, 125W in the last 12 months were legally aided and how the figures compared with the previous 12 months.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsThis information is not readily available and I regret to say that it could be extracted only with a disproportionate expenditure of time and effort. The great majority of defendants tried at these courts are legally aided.