§ Mr. KnowlesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use has so far been made of electronic monitoring as a condition of bail; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThe three pilot studies started according to schedule in the Nottingham, North Tyneside and Tower Bridge magistrates courts on, respectively, 14 August, 18 September and 23 October. As at 10 November we have received notification that 76 defendants in these areas had been recommended for consideration of the grant of bail subject to a condition of electronic monitoring; of these cases, 26 were granted bail by magistrates and Crown courts subject to this condition; of these, 14 are still on bail and being monitored. Electronic monitoring as a condition of bail is granted by the courts only in those cases where a defendant would otherwise have been remanded in custody. These cases therefore represent 26 defendants who, but for the availability of electronic monitoring, would have been remanded immediately in custody.