§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Attorney-General if he will detail the average waiting time prior to trial for each Crown court; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe average waiting times between committal and trial for all defendants dealt with at each Crown court centre during 1984 are set out in the table. Despite the increase of about 50 per cent. in committals for trial to the Crown court between 1979 and 1984, measures including the appointment of additional judges and the provision of additional court rooms helped to reduce the national average wating time for all defendants from 17.6 weeks in 1979 to 14.2 weeks in 1983: in 1984 the figure increased marginally to 14.3 weeks. Average waiting times for defendants remanded in custody have been consistently lower.
Average waiting time (in weeks) between committal for trial and start of trial for defendants dealt with at each Crown court centre during 1984 Midland and Oxford Circuit Weeks Birmingham 11.7 Coventry 7.5 Derby 8.7 Dudley* 5.2 Grimsby 10.5 Hereford 7.4 Leicester 8.4 Lincoln 12.9 Northampton 6.9 Nottingham 9.4 Oxford 11.3 Peterborough 6.4 Shrewsbury 9.2 Stafford 9.5 Stoke-on-Trent 5.3 Warwick 9.1 Worcester 8.3 *Including Walsall and Wolverhampton.
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North-Eastern Circuit Weeks Beverley* 11.3 Doncaster 9.9 Durham 9.4 Huddersfield 12.0 Leeds 12.9 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 10.4 Sheffield 9.5 Teesside 12.7 Wakefield 9.7 York 14.6 *Including Kingston-upon-Hull
Northern Circuit Weeks Bolton 11.0 Burnley 11.2 Carlisle* 8.9 Liverpool 11.6 Manchester 12.2 Preston† 9.6 * Including Kendal. † Including Barrow and Lancaster.
South Eastern Circuit Weeks Acton 27.9 Aylesbury 15.9 Bedford 10.5 Cambridge 15.7 Central Criminal Court 30.0 *Chelmsford 17.4 Chichester 17.1 Croydon 23.4 Inner London 18.1 †lpswich 10.8 Kingston-on-Thames 15.6 Knightbridge 25.9 Lewes 19.2 ‡Maidstone 19.0 ||Norwich 13.3 Reading 17.8 St. Albans 16.0 Snaresbrook 23.9 Southwark 22.0 Wood Green 23.7 * Including Southend. † Including Bury St. Edmunds. ‡ Including Canterbury. || Including Kings Lynn.
Wales and Chester Circuit Weeks Caernarvon 14.9 Cardiff 10.6 Carmarthen 10.0 Chester 12.9 Dolgellau 3.7 Haverfordwest 5.7 Knutsford 12.5 Merthyr Tydfil 9.2 Mold 13.9 Newport Gwent 11.2 Swansea 7.7 Warrington 16.7 Welshpool 15.2
Western Circuit Weeks Barnstaple 14.2 Bodmin 11.3 Bournemouth 10.2 Bristol 10.4 Dorchester 9.3 Exeter 10.2 Gloucester 10.9 Newport I.O.W. 10.8 Plymouth 3.5 Portsmouth 10.5 Salisbury 6.9 Southampton 3.4 Swindon 3.7 Taunton 14.5 Winchester 11.8