§ Ms Estelle MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure was incurred in the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1992, including the cost of training of lay magistrates; and what was the cost of implementing the subsequent amending legislation to the Act.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Criminal Justice Act 1991 contained a wide range of provisions including the introduction of a framework for sentencing, new early release arrangements and provisions relating, among other things, to children's evidence, prisoner escorts and cash limits for magistrates courts. A number of Government Departments and other agencies were involved in implementing the Act. Information about the expenditure which they may have incurred specifically in relation to implementing provisions of the Act is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The training of lay magistrates is carried out by courts locally, and training about the provisions of the 1991 Act was effected within overall training budgets. It is not possible to disaggregate the costs of this training. For similar reasons, it is not possible to identify the cost of implementing the amendments made to the sentencing framework of the 1991 Act by the Criminal Justice Act 1993.