§ Lord Adebowaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their policy on building on best court practice in the management of the court review process for drug treatment and testing orders; and what are the findings of the results of the pilots in three court areas in England set up to evaluate good practice approaches. [HL2720]
§ The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Filkin)The policy is to build on best court practice being piloted at Bristol and the Wirral magistrates' courts, based on procedures already in operation at Nottingham magistrates' court, by extending these procedures to all magistrates' courts where there is a suitable workload this year.
The findings of the pilot so far are that the magistrates on the specialist panels are confident of the effectiveness of their training and in the effectiveness of drug treatment and testing orders, and of the improvement which has been achieved in their dealing with defendants in the review process. The evaluation of statistical data from the pilot will not be undertaken until after the first anniversary of its commencement in July 2004.