§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) to what extent the community charge court workload has led to(a) delay in processing general criminal court business, (b) the postponement of magistrates court hearings and (c) the arrangement of extra court sittings in each petty session division in England and Wales;
(2) what assessment has been made of the additional costs to the magistrates court system caused by the processing of community charge summonses in England and Wales.
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§ Mr. John PattenIt is not possible to make an overall assessment of the possible impact of community charge enforcement proceedings on delays in criminal proceedings, which are the product of the interplay of many factors, especially since in some areas additional sittings have been arranged to accommodate liability order applications. Neither the number of such additional sittings nor the number of postponed sittings is, however, collected. It follows that it is not possible to calculate the extent to which the total estimated costs of community charge enforcement proceedings between 1 April 1990 and 31 December 1991 of £6.2 million represent additional costs.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community charge summonses have been withdrawn in England and Wales for the latest date for which figures are available; and how many are currently outstanding.
§ Mr. John PattenThis information is not collected centrally.