§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission a study into the creation of an appointments system for the juvenile courts; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThere have been recent research studies on the management of magistrates' courts business. We intend to publish the results shortly, with a commentary on the lessons which emerge including those on listing practices. We doubt whether an appointments system for individual cases would be practicable in juvenile courts, as in all magistrates' courts, because it is difficult to predict how long a case will last.