§ Mrs. Peacockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time currently elapsing before a case is brought to court; and if he will make a statement about the effect of recent changes on the periods concerned.
§ Mr. MellorInformation about waiting times in the magistrates' courts is not at present collected centrally, though we have recently completed a pilot study with a view to introducing a national collection scheme.
257WInformation supplied by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor about the period from committal to commencement of trial in the Crown court is set out in the table. As the table shows, average waiting times in the Crown court have decreased significantly from the final quarter of 1979 to the third quarter of this year, despite an increase in the number of committals for trial in the Crown court by nearly a half in four years. This improvement reflects increases in resources, including the provision of additional court accommodation, the appointment of additional judges, and improvements in efficiency, in line with our general emphasis on making the best use of resources in both higher and lower courts.
Average waiting times in weeks from committal for trial to trial in the Crown Court Overall Custody Bail England and Wales Final Quarter 1979 17.9 11.8 19.5 Third Quarter 1984 13.9 10.0 15.0 England and Wales, excluding London Final Quarter 1979 14.9 10.0 16.1 Third Quarter 1984 11.7 8.7 12.7 London Final Quarter 1979 31.4 21.3 33.6 Third Quarter 1984 23.0 17.1 24.5