§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the number and percentage of defendants remanded in custody and committed for trial at the Crown court who were dealt with within 16 weeks in each year since the Prosecution of Offences (Custody Time Limits) Regulations 1987 came into force.
Mr. John M. TaylorInformation about the statutory time limits is not collected in the form requested. However, of the 23,749 defendants remanded in custody awaiting trial who were dealt with during 1994, 74.2 per cent.—about 17,630 defendants—waited less than 16 weeks. It is not possible to provide an accurate comparable figure for earlier periods.