HC Deb 27 October 1997 vol 299 cc735-6W
22. Ms Blears

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reduce delays in the criminal justice system. [11678]

25. Mr. Cranston

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle delays in the criminal justice system. [11681]

Mr. Michael

The Government are committed to tackling delay throughout the criminal justice system and have pledged to halve the time taken to deal with persistent young offenders. We have accepted proposals from the review of delay in the criminal justice system which are designed to enable straightforward guilty plea cases to be dealt within days of charge, improve case management in magistrates courts and start indictable-only cases in the Crown Court. The Crime and Disorder Bill will contain the necessary measures and, to underpin them, will make provision for statutory time limits which will be tougher for young offenders than for adults, and tougher still for persistent young offenders. Our proposals for legislation to speed up youth justice were published in a consultation paper, "Tackling Delay in the Youth Justice System", on 15 October when we also published comprehensive guidance for youth justice agencies on tackling delays within the existing statutory framework.