§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to measure the effectiveness of his Department's measures to reduce the time from arrest to sentencing for persistent young offenders; and if he will collect regular and prompt statistics on the interval between arrest and sentencing. [26149]
§ Mr. MichaelSince coming to office, the Government have carried out a survey of persistent young offenders dealt with by the youth justice system in 1996. That survey indicated that in 1996 the average time between arrest and sentence for persistent young offenders was 142 days. The Government are committed to halving that figure to 71 days. To monitor progress towards that pledge, we are ensuring that systems are put in place to524W produce regular data on the time between arrest and sentence for persistent young offenders. In March of this year, we will also be contacting all Youth Courts to find out what progress has been made locally to tackle delays and to establish fast tracking arrangements for persistent young offenders. It is intended that the monitoring of a clearly identified group of persistent offenders will ensure that it is clear whether our objectives are being met. However, it is intended that the youth justice system will also fast-track those who would be regarded as persistent on common-sense judgment but who fall outside the monitoring definition of "persistent offenders"—for instance "spree" offenders. We will ensure that the youth justice system hits the real targets.